Model United Nations "Together we aspire, together we achieve"

From an academic standpoint, I have derived many benefits from MUN. First of all, I was able to learn the foreign policy of New Zealand- a country that I had no previous foreign policy knowledge of. For example, six months ago, I thought that countries such as Sweden, Canada and Japan were the most anti-weapons proliferation. I now know that New Zealand is in the same ranks as these countries when it comes to weapons proliferation. All three of my topics dealt with weapons- nuclear weapons, biological and chemical weapons, and small arms and light weapons. Therefore, after completing all of my research and competing in New York, I now have a greater wealth of knowledge about these weapons, how great of a threat they pose, international Treaties/Doctrines relating to them, Conferences held to discuss them and how other countries perceive issues relating to these weapons.

Every year that I have participated in MUN, I have learned more and more about the NMUN conference and the United Nations itself. As a result of being in a different committee for the past three years, I have a solid understanding of what the functions and purposes of these committees are. I have learned about various topics from these committees ranging from desertification to international information security to weapons proliferation. Some of the things that I have learned from my MUN participation I can apply to other courses and I am sure that one day I will be able to apply these things to my career.

As for non-academic benefits, I was able to improve upon my negotiating, speaking, researching and leadership skills as well as build my self-confidence. I am definitely not the best negotiator, but MUN has allowed me to build upon my negotiating skills and develop and try out new tactics. As I said two years ago, before MUN public speaking was something that I did not want to do. However, I am now eager to speak (especially at MUN conferences). There is so much that goes into speaking (i.e. putting together ideas, knowing what ideas are most important, cutting your speech down due to time constraints, etc.). My researching skills were definitely improved upon this year. I found myself with a great deal of information because of the resources that I had available. Time management is one thing that I always have when it comes to MUN . I may not know how to manage my time well with other courses, but with MUN I manage my time very well.

As a co-leader, and delegate, my leadership skills were improved upon this year. I had responsibilities to the team and to my committee and had to put forth effort to both and devote a great deal of time to both. I learned how to handle conflicts and how best to avoid conflict so that there won’t be a next time. One of the things about being a leader, if you are to be a good leader, is to be able to reflect on yourself and the job that you are doing. As co-leader of the 2001 team I was able to analyze the job that I was doing and look for ways that I could improve my leadership. Therefore, self-reflection is something that I gained from my position on the team this year. In addition, I learned how to communicate more effectively with others. My self-confidence always gets better after MUN because the work that I do really makes me feel a great sense of accomplishment. These are not all of the non-academic benefits, but they are the ones that stand out the most.

8. After participating in NMUN for three years now, all I can say is that I cannot believe that it’s over!  If there ever were a class or experience that you could not get enough of at school, it is MUN as a class and as an experience. People sometimes ask or wonder about this MUN experience. To these people, all that I can say is that you have to experience it on your own. Words do the MUN experience no justice. I could try to describe it, but one would have to experience it in order to capture the true essence of it. The bond that I have formed with my teammates this year is one that will never be broken. We will forever be Team 2001!

I am a very proud co-leader of this year’s team because everyone put forth a great deal of effort. Although our efforts were not rewarded in the end, our team remained strong. We remained strong because we found strength in each other, in knowing that we had given it our best, and we received strength from all that we experienced together and individually.

I leave this team and Rider U. with many memories and three hopes. Many of my fondest memories come from MUN.

My hopes are as follows:

that students at Rider U. realize what a great experience MUN is and decide to join,

that MUN be able to continue at Rider for years to come and receive more funding because it is Rider’s finest and most rewarding academic program, and

that whomever replaces Dr. Phan after he leaves will be just as dedicated as he is to MUN.

Overall, I am very pleased with my experiences this past year. As always, I learned a great deal about myself, others, different countries and various international issues. I was also able to further develop my leadership skills, communication skills, speaking skills and negotiation skills. I recommend MUN to any Rider student who has an interest in politics or international business, likes to work with others and is ready for the experience of a lifetime.

Self-Evaluation index

Faculty Adviser: Dr. Chau T. Phan, 896-5262,phanc@rider.edu