UWC Adriatic: Your UWC experience and your passion for endurance sports have lead you to take on an amazing feat in 2019. So how did it all start? How did you discover UWC and find your way to UWC Adriatic in Duino?
Terence: When I was 12, my older brother won a UWC scholarship to Pearson UWC of the Pacific. Although I was young, I saw how UWC transformed him into a young global leader. And I knew then that I would do everything I could to get to experience UWC too. Five years later I got my chance, winning a scholarship to Adriatic. I had never been overseas – my flight to Italy was my first trip to Europe. I was really intimidated by all the unknowns. How would I handle the rigorous academics? Would I be judged for coming from a country that lives by double standards and causes wars in my classmates’ countries? Wouldn’t I miss my friends back home? But the allure of UWC Adriatic – the only College where students are genuinely part of the local community – inspired me to face my fears. And soon, Duino became my new home.
UWC Adriatic: How would you describe your UWC experience in a nutshell?
Terence: I often say that UWC is like rowing in an ocean: attending UWC pushes you into a place of deep growth, teaches you to face your fears, and shows you that our human differences are much smaller than we commonly think. In this sense, it was intense! But so deeply rewarding.
I remember the first time I met my friend Mustafa, my classmate from Iraq. At first, we were each hesitant to speak. I felt guilty for the US invasion, and Mustafa (he later told me) worried that I would view him as my enemy. But as often happens at UWC, we became close friends and were able to share our experiences and ideas freely and openly, and learn to see each other as people first, putting nationality second.
It’s through friendships like this that UWC turns young people into leaders. As a student while reading the news, I could suddenly realise how the events actually impacted real people – my friends and their communities – and in this way, UWC taught me to question my assumptions and realize just how small and interdependent the world is.
UWC Adriatic: What happened after you left the College?
Terence: I missed my UWC friends! But then I realized the world is full of UWCers and full of opportunities. So I set out to work with UWCers and live by the values of the UWC movement. Looking back, I see three themes:
1. I joined the Macalester College community: Mac is a lot like UWC and spending four years earning my undergraduate degree helped me develop the skills and creative thinking to build on my UWC experience.
2. I became a social entrepreneur: I wanted to repay the gift of my UWC education and pursued a “third year option” to volunteer after UWC. Through a challenging experience that did not go to plan, I realized that social impact work requires more than good intentions – you have to match your skills to what the world actually needs. So, after Macalester, I co-founded and grew several organizations to help make the world a better place:
Finally, I completed my MBA at London Business School last year with the goal of ultimately becoming a better social entrepreneur.
3. I discovered my passion for endurance sports: It began with a simple triathlon. I was experiencing depression, and a friend invited me to train with him. Little did I know, my life was about to change. Since that invitation in 2008, I’ve dedicated myself to pushing my limits in endurance sports – participating in events that seemed impossible, then figuring out how to make it happen. I absolutely love it.
UWC Adriatic: Which brings us to “the row” – your UWC Challenge. What’s it all about? When is this happening?
Terence: Yes! The United World Challenge (UWC Challenge) is the team name and scholarship initiative I’ve launched in collaboration with other UWCers. The row itself is part of an annual 5,000 km trans-Pacific race from the Canary Islands (off the coast of Morocco) to Antigua in the Caribbean. The 2018 race began in December 12 and featured 28 teams from around the world. I’m competing in 2019 as a solo rower and dedicating the journey to UWC. I’ll spend up to 3 months at sea, entirely self-sufficient. I’ll carry my own food, produce my own drinking water, and I cannot accept any outside help.
Some teams row to set records. I’m most inspired to row for UWC – using the journey to share stories showcasing the UWC movement, sharing stories of hope, innovation, and social impact. Working with a team on land, I’ll upload my own video and photos from the high seas, so you can follow along from the comfort of your home.
UWC Adriatic: Do you feel ready for a challenge of this magnitude? Have you actually done other feats of this sort before?
Terence: Nothing can prepare you to row across an ocean. It requires an inherent leap of faith. And that’s the beauty of this challenge: the greatest obstacle is your own (dis)belief that it’s possible. I do have endurance experience (Ironmans, long-distance cycle tours, ultramarathons) but my longest non-stop event was “only” 35 hours. It was a 232km ultramarathon, the UK’s longest. I did well – placing 14th of 78 starters and 38 finishers. But running for 2 days is quite different from rowing for 2 months. It’s precisely that unknown that attracts me to this. And that’s how the experience mirrors the UWC experience, too. Ocean rowing shows that the world is smaller and our human potential so much larger than we think. So with my UWC education and the UWC movement behind me, I believe I will be as ready as a rower can be when December 2019 arrives.
UWC Adriatic: When can the donations for scholarships start?
Terence: I’m working with a team of UWC alumni from UWC-USA, UWC SEA and other colleges to hopefully begin accepting donations soon. Stay tuned!
We’re also holding a launch event for spring/summer 2019 to gather alumni together and show the rowboat when it’s complete – this will likely happen in San Francisco. In the meantime, we’re focused on securing the partners and sponsors to make the project a reality. If you know of a company that believes a better world is possible, and would like to showcase their own brand and story in front of 80 million race fans (statistic from 2016 race), then do get in touch. The race begins in December 2019 but the journey is already underway. Follow along now! To get in touch by email click here. You can also follow Terence along via the following channels: Facebook –
Instagram – Twitter – Website.
Terence Steinberg is a graduate of the UWC Adriatic in Italy, where he won a full scholarship to attend from 2004 to 2006. Terence launched the United World Challenge in 2017 in recognition of UWC’s impact on its 60,000 alumni and to support the UWC movement to create a more peaceful and sustainable world. It’s under this banner that Terence is preparing to row solo across the Pacific Ocean while raising new UWC scholarships. Terence is an avid endurance athlete with over ten years of experience. He’s a two-time Ironman with top-5% finishes, competes in ultramarathons up to 145-miles nonstop, has solo cycle-toured the UK and Ireland, and during college he completed a Nordic ski marathon on borrowed skis after having trained just a dozen times. In short, Terence thrives on the challenge of pushing his limits and can’t wait to unleash this passion on the Pacific Ocean in support of UWC. Originally from the Adirondack Mountains of New York, Terence now lives in Boulder, Colorado and is a Senior Consultant with Deloitte. Terence is an alumn of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community and earned his MBA from London Business School and BA from Macalester College.
