MSUMUN

Last weekend I was fortunate enough to participate in my fourth, but hopefully not last, Model United Nations conference on campus. Since I started at MSU I have been involved with an organization on campus that creates, organizes, and staff a conference for high school students to compete as delegates to the UN. When I was in high school, I had heard about Model UN teams and conferences but never chose to participate in them myself. Through James Madison College, some of my friends convinced me to interview to be on the staff when I was a Freshman, even though I had no idea what I was doing. Luckily, they gave me a chance and I completely fell in love with the program. We begin initial conference preparations in October and then work all year to train and prepare ourselves to host high schoolers on campus for the whole weekend. Personally, competing in Model UN is not something that interests me, but being a part of the staff has been a really wonderful experience. It combines my passions for history, social issues, and teaching in such a perfect way. The students, both college and high school, that I work with are the most interesting and engaging individuals that I know. In just the four years I have been on staff I have seen the conference grow into something really amazing. It has become more professional, better respected, and more successful than any of us could have imagined. This year, we had almost 500 delegates from 30 schools and four different states, discussing some of the biggest challenges that face our world today.

This year, I was responsible for a group that, instead of being an official UN committee, was a mock Michigan Senate for the weekend. It was a challenge for us because it had never been done before and went against what most people were expecting at an MUN conference. We were nervous about how it would be received and whether or not the students would understand why we felt that this was an important avenue to explore. The committee far exceeded our wildest expectations in even just the first day. The high school students were prepared, involved, and passionate about their topics. The truly embodied their Senator's positions and eagerly jumped into the topics we had prepared for them (Revitalization of Detroit, Reform in K-12 Education Standards, and Transitions and Innovations for the New Michigan Economy). I am so truly inspired by these students and it just helps remind me that I am doing exactly what I need to with my life. Sometimes it so easy to lose sight of that and being involved with programs such as MSU Model UN has really helped me develop my own passions. Explore our website for more information about the conference.