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

Evaluations of the 1998 Rider NMUN experience
Country represented: Jordan

Michael Kaiser
Delegation Leader

The greatest non-academic benefit that I derived from participating in the 1998 NMUN is the relationships that I developed with my teammates. I can honestly say that I consider all of the other nine members of the team to now be my friends to keep in touch with all of the team members.

The experience of the 1998 NMUN may be the highlight of my academic career at Rider. When I was asked to be team leader I was not sure what I was getting myself into. I had no idea that I could change so much over the course of two semesters. I was one of the quietest people on the 1997 NMUN team, and this year I "came out of my shell."

There were times during the Fall 1997 semester when I felt that I would not be able to handle it. This was before I knew how strong the 1998 team was going to be. There was also a time during this semester when I was worried about the status of the team, and if we would be able to make through the week in New York. The team shattered all of my doubts once we were at the conference. Every single member of the 1998 NMUN team put 110% into their committees at the conference. Another aspect of the 1998 NMUN experience is the way that the team came together at the conference. We had ten different team members, with ten different conflicting personalities. We realized that we had to put our differences aside and concentrate on the task at hand. I was also pleased with the friendships that I made with my team members. For these reasons I am willing to do whatever it takes to become a member of the 1999 Rider University National Model United Nations.

Speaking publicly and discussing issues in a more confident manner are two things I excelled at this year and not so much last year. This year my confidence in my topic allowed me to do well with speeches and caucusing. The fact that I did not have a committee partner made put more pressure on myself to be active and aggressive in my committee.

NMUN required extensive personal interest in the topics, as well as an extensive amount of time and discipline. Therefore as a total assessment NMUN is undoubtedly more challenging than your average three-credit course.

When NMUN first met in the Fall, and began in the Spring, I was informed that the team was made of everyone's personal strengths. Now after my experience in New York, I can honestly say that my strengths were further developed by the entire semester's work. Previous to New York, I had never had to speak publicly, let alone speak under a time limit. This element of NMUN challenged me, to both consolidate my thoughts into one coherent speech, and to feel comfortable in front of a large crowd. The caucusing periods that we practiced during simulation, and in New York, had also helped me in my ability to make compromises and to see issues from multiple angles. This is a benefit that will carry over into my other classes in that I will hereby be more proficient in my analytical skills.

Besides the many academic qualities that were enhanced by my experience, I can also say that I have learned a great deal about myself and my teammates outside of the classroom. I would first like to add that the members of the 1998 team were very dedicated individuals, yet differed in many ways. Normally opposing personalities may cause some tension, but I feel that on April 7,1998, those personalities made a unit. NMUN has given me nine new friends. I found myself able to gel with nine people whom I previously had not. Besides the obvious group benefits, NMUN had helped me find out some things about myself. In New York I found that I had strengths that I did not even consider before. I am a good listener. I listened to everyone's stories when they came back from their sessions. I took their problems and or strengths and applied them to my own sessions. This allowed me to notice even more how important having a team really is.

I thought he experience was good. It gave me the opportunities to see how difficult the world is in making global policy. It showed how everyone is trying to act within the interests of themselves, and the hardship that they have in creating fair and just solutions to a hard and difficult world to live in. The range of topics we covered as a team were great. My topic, The stabilization of Palestinian Territories, was a difficult topic. It was the only topic we covered.

I definitely got a chance to learn the fastest ways to gain information from the net, and learned about the international struggles which effect the Middle East region. I learned about the world in a the closest way possible, to act it out. We covered topics that the real United Nations are dealing with every day, from as a far back as 1948. I learned many things about the United Nation's procedure, and about how other countries are in terms of the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict.

Non-academically I learned good ways of meeting new people. I had to work with people I had never met before, and friends were created. I met two girls from Maryland and a guy who is fellow scout and we have planned a camping trip in the Rockies.

I learned how difficult things can be when there are difficult problems with many different people involved in the solution, furthermore, how these different countries want things done a certain way. Working together with people I had just met was by far the greatest non-academic gain from participating in Model United Nations. At first you are nervous, but as you discuss your topics with others, or things in common you are immediately aware that you will not forget he experience.

Overall, the Model United Nations experience was better than any academic club I have ever participated in. I loved how we talked to a member of the real Jordanian Mission in New York and learned from the real people what the issues were from a citizen of another country. I felt as if I could see what was it like to live and believe what he did in terms policy formation. This person from the mission was very helpful from career point of view for this feeling. He was able to show me the realness of living in the area and the understanding of the difficulty in dealing with problems like the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

Being in the fourth committee all by myself was a difficult task. I had to do everything myself, and at times is was very frustrating. But the experience and what you learn far outweigh any stress; the experience and time is truly worth the effort.

The academic benefits gained from the 1998 NMUN conference were a broader knowledge of rules and procedure, I also gained a first hand look at how diplomacy works (or is supposed to).

I learned better public speaking skills, and how to present an argument to a group of people. I learned how to carry myself and get accomplished what I previously thought impossible.

The main academic benefit I gained from my MUN experience was the opportunity to exercise long-range planning skills which I've not previously had many occasions to use as an undergrad. In addition to that, I learned a great deal about international trade (and the politics thereof); some of what I learned was quite specialized -- I might even say esoteric -- but in order to understand those issues, I first needed to build a base of knowledge vis-a-vis international trade and global economics.

At the conference, the human resources available to delegates were fabulous. While there, I got to hear speak -- and in most cases, ask questions of -- three directors of UN agencies, one US Army General (formerly the director of NATO operations in Bosnia), one representative of the Jordanian mission to the UN, and several staff members of the NMUN conference. [Listening and speaking to these individuals made me feel lucky and honored not just that I was face-to-face with such accomplished and important people, but also that they cared to share some of their knowledge and experiences with us first hand, and gave us the opportunity to find out, from the sources, themselves, what the issues and their own jobs really meant to them.]

On a very personal note, as the grandson of a Polish Jew, until a few years ago, I could not conceive of even speaking to a German person, much less being friendly with one; as it happened in New York, though, not only did I end up working with and literally sitting next to two students from Germany, but I actually enjoyed them a lot. As I said, I could ever have imagined that happening, and for me it was very healing. I suppose, then, you could generally say that the most significant non-academic benefit of my participation in MUN was the opportunity I had to work with people from a variety of backgrounds.

In comparison to other courses, I would say that NMUN is very demanding and requires a lot more effort than a normal course. In a normal course there are set guidelines. After the first day when you acquire the syllabus you know what amount of effort the course demands. NMUN allows the student to determine what kind of effort is necessary to achieve the goal of a distinguished delegate. I put a lot of effort into the preparation for the conference because I love the spotlight. I love it when another delegation comes up to my own and asks, "What do we do next?" So, yes, compared to other classes I put in a lot more effort into NMUN, but then again when you are up against 2699 other students in nearly 200 schools from around the world with a strong competitive spirit what would you expect?

I am an English Writing Major at Rider University. The academic benefits go beyond any major, minor, etc. I have learned about the political issues of the entire world, I have learned how to represent the interests of different cultures and regimes through deciding international policy, I have learned about the infrastructure, culture, politics policies, problems, economy, and domestic issues of countless countries; but, most amazing of all, I have learned how all 186 member states of the United Nations work in unison to solve problems and discuss issues that effect the entire world and how to actually solve the problems myself through interaction with other delegations in mock United Nations Conference in NY... What an awarding experience it is!

I learned how to create working papers, follow procedure efficiently, and every aspect of the issues, policies, infrastructure, and charter of two countries, Trinidad and Tobago (1997) and The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (1998).

The non-academic benefits surpass the academic benefits and I am not stating this in a bad way, but a good way. To be blunt and realistic, I would not be the same person if I was never a part of the NMUN experience. Rider University is an institution of higher learning and prepares the student for the competition in the world. I have had quite an academic career at Rider. I have a dean's list average, I am in three honor societies, I have been part of SGA, RHA, and am a known capable solicitor for donations for various events on campus. Nothing compares to NMUN. I am who I am, and my confidence to become what I want to be in life is derived from my experience with NMUN.

The "unrecognized" and obviously "underrated" and "undercapitalized" program that Rider provides but doesn't know about has taught me how to prepare, how to interact with people, how to cope with frustration and stress and turn it into productive, positive energy, how to express myself with confidence, and most importantly, NMUN has nurtured my leadership skills.

This year the NMUN experience has once again put me to the test, in a more challenging committee and atmosphere to represent the need of Jordan and take initiative over leadership in the region and gradually the committee. Steve and I made an excellent team and we were able to meet the challenge and come out glorious and on top. Last year, the committee I was a part of,

I believe that our performance as a team in each of our committees is very commendable this year and we were completely deserving of the Outstanding Delegation Award.

As far as my career goes with NMUN, thank you Rider University for providing me with the means for becoming a future leader later in life through the NMUN Program. Thank you NMUN for the experience, the team is like family, and most of all, thank you Dr. Phan for giving an English Writing Major, who talks a lot, a chance to prove himself to the team and you and myself. I hope my performance was everything you wanted from me and more... Good Luck Next Year - Long Live the National Model United Nations!!!

Some non-academic benefits include: making friends and networking with college students from around the world, becoming close friends with fellow Rider teammates, staying in a NICE hotel for a week in New York, NY.

What non-academic benefits did you derive from participating in the 1998 NMUN?
Team work and communication skills are an invaluable part of the NMUN experience. It was also lots of fun.