The Alum Reunion weekend always brings a surge of energy to our campus. It is a space to reconnect with peers and meet new ones. From Friday, July 18, to Monday, July 21, the Reunion 2025 welcomed 120 alums and family members representing 11 generations and 43 different nationalities.
Amidst the hugs, laughter, and memories, we met some alums who share a much more special bond. Alexis Lanza ’08 (Belize) and Sondre Skarsten ’09 (Norway) met on campus back in 2007. Their story is a beautiful testament to the enduring, borderless bonds forged on campus, an unexpected romance born of shared classes, late-night chats, and a mutual commitment to global citizenship. At Reunion, they stopped for five minutes to reflect on the incredible 16-year journey that had taken them from neighboring dorm rooms to marriage and parenthood.
A “One-Month” Pact
Sondre arrived in Costa Rica the year after Alexis, who was part of the inaugural class of UWC Costa Rica. Their social circles initially overlapped when a mutual friend became Alexis’s roommate, quickly merging their “Caribbean kids” group with Sondre’s friends. “We were hanging out all the time,” Alexis recalls. Yet, despite the closeness, they didn’t officially start dating until graduation was just one month away. “It was not meant to be a long-term thing,” Sondre admits. “It was meant to be. Let’s date until the end of the academic year, and then let’s see how it goes.” Their philosophy was clear: enjoy a great memory, then move on. But that initial pact was quickly tested.
The first extension came with a planned Central American road trip up to Belize, prompting them to say, “Let’s not break up until after Belize.” This was quickly followed by Alexis’s first-ever visit to Norway that same summer. With every milestone, the relationship survived, fueled by a commitment to take it “day by day.” They never focused on forever; they focused on the next time they would see each other.
Their individual academic goals demanded a practical approach to their relationship. Both prioritized education, a philosophy that led to years of long-distance. Alexis studied Biology in North Carolina, while Sondre pursued Psychology in Florida. They managed to live together for one year after completing their undergraduate degrees, but the reality of academic life soon intervened. Both were accepted into separate PhD programs in different states.
At that point, nearing their mid-twenties, they faced the brutal truth that many aspiring academics confront: geography makes sustained commitment almost impossible. “We decided, okay, maybe this has run its course,” Sondre explains, noting the lack of a natural pathway to keep them together. They decided to end the relationship, prioritizing their professional futures, but with the mutual agreement to remain friends, a necessity given their shared circle of UWC friends. They would spend the next five years apart, dating other people, yet never entirely breaking that essential UWC connection.
Despite the physical distance, their commitment to remaining close friends meant they were always a part of each other’s lives. The defining factor, they realized, was the enduring knowledge of one another generated during those transformative UWC years. During a trip five years after their separation, a conversation crystallized their future. They openly discussed what they truly wanted from life and what kind of partner they were searching for. “We knew all the flaws about each other. We knew all the drawbacks, and nobody’s perfect,” Alexis says.
The realization was powerful: despite the time apart, they still recognized in each other the person they wanted to build a family with. “We said, yeah, let’s just do this,” Sondre recalls. Their eventual marriage was supposed to take place at the UWC Costa Rica campus, but then the COVID-19 pandemic intervened. However, all the plans were postponed, and they fulfilled their promise after the lockdown. It was the inevitable conclusion of a friendship too strong to be contained by distance or academic paths.
In December 2023, their baby Elena arrived.
UWC’s Enduring Legacy
Now, as they raise their daughter Elena, they reflect on UWC’s impact, which goes far beyond their marriage. “Even though UWCers end up spread all over the world, and we see each other infrequently, these friends are like family, and no matter how much time passes, we can pick up right where we left off,” Alexis shares. The friendships, they worry, are like family; no matter how much time passes, they pick up right where they left off.
A deep sense of nostalgia and a strong sense of necessity drove the decision to attend the Reunion and return to campus again. “This is why we came,” Sondre explained. “There was no way we were not going to show UWC to Elena.” For Alexis, walking through the gates again has a strange feeling: “It felt like everything had changed, but nothing had changed. It just felt like we’re right back there. The breeze, the trees, the birds, the wind. And then it faded, and it’s almost like you just stepped right back into the routine.” The true magic of UWC, they discovered, is not just in the walls, but in the enduring, life-defining human connections they found here.