Matyáš Jirát

I come from Prague but my family moved to a little village outside Prague later. Nature was very close to me ever since childhood – both physically and mentally. I really love camping and mountain hiking, especially with a bunch of good friends.

I started high school at the Grammar School in Český Brod where I spent six beautiful years and found some great friends. Later I applied for the UWC (United World College) and was admitted in 2015. I chose a school in Armenia because Armenia has beautiful nature and a starkly different culture. I was looking for a change in lifestyle and education and I found it there, which enthused me. I have also received some of the best education in the world there. I took interest in ways to spread top-notch education among other people. My fantastic mentors have led me to wanting to become an educator too.

This combines two of my passions – giving people the amazing things I myself have been given while learning and exploring the world through physics. I don’t think that teaching physics per se is my goal – rather, it is teaching people how to put on the “physicist’s glasses” and look through them, take a bit from the science’s analytical view of the world and understand more. I find that amazing.

Secondary School

Grammar School in Český Brod (2009-2015); UWC Dilijan, Armenia (2015-2017)

University

Bennington College, VT, a U.S. Liberal Arts degree, beginning 2017

E-mail

matyas@jirat.cz

Goals

Become a true educator and not just a teacher. I want to inspire young people to grow up in learning about the world and find links between the academic and human part of life and nature. What is more, Jens Waltermann, Executive Director of UWC, told me: “Educators are multiplicators”.

Interests

I love sports; I used to play handball on a competition level. I tried water sports such as yachting and windsurfing at UWC. I never say no to a good book I can read on my Kindle, and if there is a ball with good music you’ll see me on the dance floor all the time.