"It felt pretty unreal finding out I made it in, I'm still trying to process it," Aquila said.
"I also couldn't tell people for quite a while until it was all confirmed properly.
"People from tons of different countries apply and at some of the colleges they have up to 100 nationalities.
"The whole point is so that young people can come together, meet and learn about people from other countries and learn how to live sustainably together.
"It's a really good place to get involved with community service projects, but because there's so many people from different countries, just being around them you get to know so much more about the world.
"Because you have to do the same application process, everyone has the same goal — to create change."
Aquila hopes to learn more about the world, about how other people think, and explore different perspectives she has not been exposed to before.
She is looking forward to meeting like-minded people but also be challenged to think differently.
"I'm looking forward to meeting different but similar people.
"It is an amazing way to see different cultures.
"Nelson Mandela's kids and grandkids went there.
"I want to learn how to make the world a better place to live in and to have a greater understanding between people and their lives, to be challenged to explore perspectives I've never even thought of before just by being around culturally and ethnically different people."
Aquila will be the first New Zealander to attend the UWC in Swaziland and is excited about making global connections.