Alex Knott

Nationality: British and Canadian
Lives in: US
School: Canadian International School, 2008-2009
Year of Graduation: 2009, Ontario Secondary School Diploma

Tell us about your school days.

Though my parents are from Canada, I was born in London and I also spent some years in South Africa as a young child and in Singapore as a teenager. Defining “home” was always complicated for me: I never felt entirely “Canadian”, “British” or anything else. I feel fortunate to have experienced many different places and to find it easy to get along with people from all over the world.

During my last year of high school, I went on a trip to Cambodia. Learning about the country’s turbulent history was challenging, and there was also a service component that included visiting orphanages and building houses. In my gap year, I ended up volunteering at one of the orphanages we visited during that trip; that year really set me on the path I’m still on.

I was one of the last to graduate from CIS with an Ontario High School diploma – it’s since been replaced by the International Baccalaureate – and I was also awarded the Governor General’s medal for the highest grade point average. Interestingly, I graduated with the same diploma as my mother did, yet on the other side of the world, and having never actually lived in Canada at that point!

At CIS, I learned how to work with others in an international setting and how to engage critically with information, as opposed to just passively ingesting and regurgitating facts. It’s becoming more critical than ever to learn how to process and relate information, and to communicate and collaborate with others who have different skillsets and viewpoints.

I’ve managed to meet up with CIS graduates in Singapore, and in unexpected places including Canada, South Korea and Mexico. One of the wonderful things about going to an international school is that by the time you graduate you have a global network of friends.

Did you go on to university?

Yes, my degree was from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, and I spent one of my four years on exchange at Koç University in Istanbul, Turkey. For my postgraduate degree, I studied Anthropology at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London (completed 2016), with a focus on International Development. Initially I had no idea what to study, but I couldn’t have imagined a better course!

What are you doing now?

I work with a US-based NGO called Omprakash – it’s online, so I can work from anywhere, which in the past year has included Vancouver, India, Hawaii and New York. Omprakash aims to help its 166 inter national partner organisations in more than 40 countries to find volunteers, interns, researchers and donors to support their efforts. I liaise with new and existing partner NGOs and am a mentor for their ethical global engagement program.

Where do you hope to be in 10 years?

Many of the things I’ve done in the past 10 years have been the result of chance encounters and unexpected opportunities. So, while I have no idea what may be in store for me next week, let alone in ten years, all I can hope is that I continue to be open to what life has to offer, to challenge myself and to continue to grow as a person, in all facets of life.

View the article published in Expat Living here.