"Hanoi is my home", proclaimed Carmen Cortizas (Class of 2023), a Spanish native who has spent 18 years of her life in Vietnam. As she shared, Carmen speaks four languages: Spanish, English, Mandarin Chinese, and Vietnamese with a “Hanoi accent".
Studying at UNIS Hanoi was Carmen’s choice. "I wanted to do IB, and all my friends are here." But soon after joining the School, Carmen realised there was more to it at UNIS Hanoi.
She became an active member of the Service Learning programme. In ninth and tenth grade, she planned a series of "inspirational women talks” for the Gender Awareness group entitled “The Voices of Change'' which featured Ms Huong Dang, founder of Hopebox, as well as Ms Thao Van, Chairwoman of Will to Live Center . She then co-led the RevivAll group with Grade 12 students, Kim Doan and Yen Dao, to create socialising opportunities for Agent Orange victims through a partnership with the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange (VAVA) in her final high school years. "From playroom to mural painting to art and music therapy, we wanted to give residents at the centre value and our time. And they in turn gave back a lifelong memory and a great learning experience for us all," stated Carmen. "Thank you, UNIS Hanoi, for providing us the chance to build these sustainable and long-lasting connections beyond our school."
In Hanoi, the twin-culture girl grew up surrounded by unconventional creativity and experimental art. Naturally, she embraces the arts and human relationships with contemporary artists and their art stories. She began "An Assignment on Memory," a collection of essays on the lives and works of ten Vietnamese artists from different generations for the Nguyen Art Foundation, as her personal project in Grade 10. Here, her passions for art, history, and literature converged. When Carmen finally finished the project in December 2022, she felt a great sense of accomplishment. Commenting on this success, she remarked, "My teachers understand my aspirations; they encourage me, let me develop them, and nurture them. I owe them a lot."
"I am a big believer in consistency and that there's time for everything", she continues. "As students, we have to work hard but also find our own passion. At UNIS Hanoi, we are taught to grow our own individual selves.”
In April, Carmen received the prestigious Council for International Schools Award given to a student who embodies the values of international understanding, community-building, and academic excellence. Speaking about Carmen, her teacher said, "She is proactive, caring for others while encouraging a sense of community; she is an inclusive student who engages with challenging learning and supports her peers."
Leaving UNIS and Hanoi, Carmen will study the history of the arts in the UK. She plans to return in the future to nowhere else but her home in Vietnam, where she is emotionally and culturally attached, to continue her art journey—a journey of listening, collecting, and capturing the beauty of art in people’s untold memories.