Today, I would like to tell you all about Model UN. Around 4 years ago, I was watching The Goldbergs at home as a 7th grader, laughing about how much it related to my own family. There was an episode where Erica was saying a monologue about how she went from nerd to popular kid. In this list of nerdy activities, she talked about how she used to participate in Model UN. My brother happened to walk behind me at that moment, and the next thing I know, he’s starting a Model United Nations club at Ventura High School. For those 2 years between my 7th grade year and my freshman year, my brother, Micah, invested in getting a club started and even went to MUN camp in the summer. He spoke non stop about how amazing MUN camp was, and how I just have to do it. As a 12 year old, I really had no idea what I wanted to do after high school, and I completely blew off Micah’s words. I was dragged along to conferences, and each time, it still made no sense to me what the delegates actually did. The day after I returned from my 8th grade Washington DC trip, a MUN team member of ours had a family emergency,. We were headed to a MUN conference, and since my parents were club advisors (so I was going along anyway), my family decided to volunteer me for the task of representing her country, Tunisia, on the General Assembly. This conference was my first experience with Model UN, and I hated it. I researched my country in the car, I had no idea how committee procedures worked, and I was definitely not interested in discussing Tunisia’s stance on sanctions. Coming from a family where commitment is regarded as very important, I toughed it out those two days but I decided I never wanted to do Model UN again.
Thank goodness my family persuaded me to try another conference. As I entered my freshman year at Ventura High School, I attended (what I now considered Micah and my) MUN club Mondays and Fridays, and I slowly started to understand how it actually worked. And I really enjoyed it! For the last 2 years, I have competed in around 10 Model United Nations competitions. I’ve represented countless countries on countless committees, all working toward making a better future. When preparing for a conference, we get a choice of committees and a list of the countries that have seats on that committee. Whenever I can, I choose the committees that have to do with health. This past Saturday, I represented France on the World Health Organization, and I won my first Best Delegate award. Maybe it’s because I’m the child of a doctor, or just because I played Operation as a kid at camp, but I’ve always been interested in public health and the effects it has on communities. Growing up in Ventura, California, a beach town, I have never really had to deal first hand with the effects of a harmful living environment. Through Model UN, I’m able to step into the shoes of another country and argue for real solutions that affect real people.
Growing up with an older brother, I’ve watched him go in and out of phases, from the Titanic to smart watches and finally to economics, and I’ve seen him develop a career path for himself. I’ve had my fair share of phases as well; there was a time when I wanted to be an architect, then an interior designer, a pediatrician, and a fashion designer. In middle school, all of my teachers told me I’d “find myself” in high school, and that I would “find my crowd.” To tell you the truth, I still haven’t really “found my crowd,” but it’s the activities I joined that helped me “find myself.” By joining Model UN, I’ve gotten to experience so many new situations I would have never been exposed to before. I’ve learned so much about the world I live in and how my world interacts with the rest of the earth. While being in MUN has shaped my after school life a bit differently, I distinctly remember spending 3 hours on a Friday researching Russia. It has really been an amazing experience to explore this new academic universe, a course that has led me to wanting to major in international relations. I’ve been on a good 20 ish college tours with my brother, and now, as a sophomore, I know exactly where I want to go and pretty much exactly what I want to do! Going forward, I am looking at exploring other fields that can complement my interest in international relations, such as public health, economics, or foreign policy. Being in Model United Nations has given me so many opportunities, and I cannot wait to travel all over the world as a high schooler – through Model UN – to solve real world problems in a couple of days, the same problems that adults spend their entire lives trying to fix.