Jonáš Jelínek

I was born in Prague where I also received my secondary education. I spent eight years at the Jan Kepler High School, close to the Prague Castle. Those studies proved to be of benefit in all respects. The competitive environment, high demands and a broad range of opportunities for individual development enabled me to focus on my favorite topics and subjects.

My one-semester exchange at the Oundle School in England, a partner school with “my” high school, was without a doubt of the greatest benefit and also a turning point for me. It literally opened the doors to the world for me and, in addition to valuable experience, it gave me a vital impetus to prepare for university studies abroad. My schoolmates in England and my brother showed me that studying at a good school abroad is achievable. In England, I got to like the widespread practice of volunteering and helping the community, and I continued it back home. I participate in an afterschool teaching program organized by the People in Need charity, which also brought me to conferences on child labor in Dublin and Brussels.

Aside from those, I also participated in the popular Prague Student Summit and the National Conference of the European Youth Parliament, as part of which our school team proceeded to the pan-European level of the conference. Choosing my future university, I preferred the American model and its greater freedom. But the admission to the finance-intensive UCLA and my inclusion in several waitlists brought me back to the UK. The University of St. Andrews suited me best in terms of quality and financial demands, and I can be a student there thanks to backing from The Kellner Family Foundation.

Thank you!

Secondary

Jan Kepler High School, Prague, graduated in 2011

Tertiary

University of St. Andrews, UK, International Relations, started in 2012

E-mail

jelinek.jonas@gmail.com

Goals

Use my education as well as possible for the benefit of myself and others.

Interests

Reading, sports, web design, global developments, emerging countries, Spanish