Numerous alumni of UWC Dilijan international school in Armenia have returned to the school on the occasion of its tenth anniversary. And in an interview with NEWS.am, alumnus Dalia Atallah from Lebanon spoke about the impact this school had on her future.

Studying at UWC Dilijan gave her a sense of independence and confidence. Everyone at the school is encouraged to take on various initiatives because everyone thinks alike and tries to contribute to change, even at the local level, Atallah said.

In addition, UWC Dilijan school gave her the opportunity to be engaged in the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, and she has been one of the organizers of the event for years. She can't even begin to describe the impact it had on meeting so many humanists who have done so much in their communities, risking their own lives to promote positive change, Atallah said.

Dalia Atallah is a United Nations University Centre for Policy Research fellow. She is also the founder of EchoHerEco, which promotes sustainable development by supporting Lebanese artisan women. Also, she was awarded an Aurora scholarship and is a partner of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative.

The UWC Dilijan alumnus fondly remembers the founder of this school, Ruben Vardanyan.

The arrest of Ruben Vardanyan is the biggest pain of the community, and this fact causes great anger, because all this is very unfair. He is the founder of UWC Dilijan and Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, who has changed her life and thousands and millions of people around the world with his work Atallah said. So how can one not stand with him and not be angry at his illegal arrest, she asked. With a group of UWC Dilijan graduates, they started an initiative demanding the release of Vardanyan and other Armenian detainees in Azerbaijan, and she can say on behalf of other graduates that they stand with Vardanyan and demand his immediate release from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku, Dalia Atallah added.

As reported earlier, this year marks the tenth anniversary of UWC Dilijan. It is one of the 18 colleges of the United World Colleges international network. The Armenian branch was founded by philanthropists Ruben Vardanyan and Veronika Zonabend.

As a result of ten years of activity, the school boasted 917 graduates from 120 countries, 98 percent of whom were accepted into the world's top universities.

The school has had 160 Armenian students, 98 percent of whom have studied there with a scholarship provided by the founding family.

With the establishment of UWC Dilijan, 1,700 temporary and around 300 permanent jobs were created in this Armenian city, and its tourism life became more active.