This year’s Mountbatten Memorial Prize recipient is Alejandro Rene Ortiz Lopez from Venezuela.
Presented annually since 1984, the award goes to a second-year student who best represents the UWC ideals of international and intercultural understanding, personal responsibility and integrity, compassion and service, respect for the environment, and idealism. UWC-USA faculty choose the recipient.
The award is named after Lord Louis Mountbatten, who was named president of the UWC movement in 1967. Mountbatten was one of the most decorated and important diplomats and military figures of his time. He grew up in a prominent military family, seeing action during both WWI and WWII. Mountbatten became head of the British Armed Forces in 1959. Upon retiring, he devoted his life to international affairs and the avoidance of conflict, with UWC becoming one of his most prominent interests.
The scholarship is funded by The Bern Schwartz Family Foundation. Bern Schwartz was a businessman and portrait photographer. The foundation sponsors educational projects and initiatives in museums, libraries, schools and universities and donates photographs by Bern Schwartz from its archive.