UWC Mahindra College monthly newsletter


Sunday, August 28, 2011

Welcome to new faculty

UWC Mahindra College welcomes its new faculty members who join us from the US, Canada, Spain , France & India. Nandita Dinesh, an alumna of Mahindra College, will head the Triveni office, Ainhoa Orensanz will teach Spanish, Arvin Dang will teach Economics, Douglas Amwine English, Dr Oscar Avila-Akerberg Biology and Alix Petter French & she will also help out in the Triveni office.


Ainhoa joins us from Zaragoza in Spain. She describes herself as a learner for life with a good sense of fun. A graduate of Salamanca Univeristy she has degrees in Spanish Language and Literature, Pedagogics, English Language & Literature and Comparitive Literature and is currently a PhD candidate also at the same university.

Arvin grew up in Singapore and Hong Kong and attended UWC SEA. He has a BA (Honours) degree from Oxford University in Economics and Management. His interests include writing, education and philosophy, technology and social entrepreneurship.

Douglas Arnwine left Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences in the US to join the English and history departments at UWC- Mahindra College. He has a BS in Philosophy and Anthropology from the University of Oregon, and MA in Liberal Arts and an MA in Eastern Classic from St John's College in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  He taught at Seattle Academy for 5 years and at Desert Academy in Santa Fe, NM for 2 years where he taught a variety of courses in Literature, Philosophy, History and Mandarin.  He will also be teaching TOK at UWC-Mahindra College.
In addition to Doug’s academic roles, he has assisted in boy’s soccer and cross-country teams and served as Head Strength and Conditioning coach for the last three years. He is a certified Russian Kettlebell Instructor (RKC) and has helped integrate field and weight room conditioning programs for many athletic teams. His other extracurricular commitments include leading outdoor and service programs to India, Zambia, Alaska, and Washington State’s Olympic National Park. He's very excited to join the community here.  


Alix Petter, a Canadian national, completed her BA in Literary Studies at the University of Quebec and is building on her experience to support the learning of inspired and motivated young students. She has a passion for language and literature and a keen interest in community development. Before coming to Mahindra College, she worked in the not-for-profit and community sectors, most recently at Santropol Roulant, an intergenerational meals on wheels / urban sustainable food hub in Montreal. She has also been involved with various forms of teaching and education for several years, from teaching swimming lessons at 16 to more formal teaching support while at university. She loves to cook, garden and travel, and is very excited to be joining the college community this year.

Dr Oscar Avila Akerberg is a Mexican / Swedish national and an alumnus from Mahindra College who graduated in 2000 and returns to teach Biology, ESS and TOK. He earned a PhD in Physics and Neuroscience doing his dissertation on how populations of neurons transmit sensory information. His extra curricular interests include choir singing, photography, dancing, football soccer, cooking, among others. He has studied in Sweden, Denmark, Mexico and recently finished his PhD at MgGill University in Montreal, Canada.

Nandita Dinesh, our second alumni who graduated in 2002, will head the Triveni office.  She will be responsible for the CAS programme, Project Weeks and the Third Year Option; and will also teach English.  Nandita has an MA in Performance Studies from New York University, and a  BA in Economics and Theatre Studies from Wellesley College.

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