Evaluations of the 1999 Rider NMUN Experience

Rider Model United Nations
Alumni Association
"Together we aspire, together we achieve"

1999 Rider NMUN Team
Our 32nd Year

The NMUN experience has been the most rewarding academic and personal experience for me in my four years at Rider University. That is the reason why I chose to come back for a third year. I have participated in the Rider NMUN program for 3 years now: 1997, 1998, and 1999. Each year the teams have gotten progressively better. As the teams have gotten better, the experience at the conferences has gotten better. The academic and personal benefits have also been more rewarding for me through the progressing years. My positive experience at the 1998 conference led to my participation for a third year, and my positive experience at the 1999 conference has led to my desire to seek a staff position at the 2000 conference. The 1999 Rider University National Model United Nations Team may not have won any awards at the 1999 conference, but the team represented Rider University and the Republic of Botswana with a great effort. NMUN at Rider is not about winning awards. It is about becoming a better student and a better person. It is about learning how to work with students from other schools, as well as students from other countries. It is about learning about international relations in the post-Cold War era, and the role of the United Nations and member states. Most importantly it is a chance to develop close working relationships and friendships with fellow Rider students, and students from other institutions. I will never forget my Rider NMUN experiences. Each one of the teams I have been on have helped me learn more about myself, as well as about other people. It is something that I am proud to have been a part of, and will always carry with me. Michael Kaiser, Delegation Co-Leader, April 7, 1999.

National Model United Nations is one experience I will never forget. I’ve been in other situations where I’ve debated topics and have analyzed positions but NMUN has beat them all. The intense drive to create resolutions with other countries has taught me about the way the world really works and how I need to better myself to deal with it. In addition to the academic benefits and prestige it offers, NMUN has given me a new family at Rider. Teammates I hardly knew became wonderful colleagues and companions. Overall this is an experience where the team motto rings true: "Together we aspire, together we achieve." I can’t wait ‘till next year! Nargis Afzal.

I think this was the most rewarding experience I have had in my college career in Rider University. I am very proud to have been a teammate with my fellow delegates. I am proud to have represented Rider University in the NMUN Conference. This has been a great educational and social experience for me. I have learned so much regarding international relations, politics, and how to deal with people in a close, political environment. My only regret about graduating Rider is that I am going to be unable to participate again in NMUN. This experience has had a huge impact on my future endeavors. I am thinking about doing a Master’s in Latin American affairs or international relations. I am very interested in a career in the United Nations. I am going to always remember my experiences in NMUN in Rider and in NYC.Aaron Ellenport.

I was delighted to be part of such a great conference. It was an excellent experience to me because I learned a lot while having lots of fun. The team members were the best, I enjoyed working with everyone else. Generally, NMUN brings the finest memory every time I think about it. Thank you Dr. Phan, Thank you Team Members ? Leaders for making 1999 NMUN such a pleasant experience. Deima Elnatour.

NMUN was a valuable experience for me. I learned a lot about myself, others, and different regions of the world. Whereas I learn things in other classes and forget a great deal of what I learned after the completion of the class, I will always remember my experiences with NMUN. NMUN more than exceeded my expectations (for the good). Fatisha Hobbs.

My participation on the 1999 Model UN team ranks as one of the greatest experiences I have had at Rider. The hard work and preparation was well worth the satisfaction I received from watching my work in action. When our resolution passed, I felt like I had truly accomplished something. Shaking hands with the other delegates I had worked with, talking with the team about all of our accomplishments, and leaving New York knowing that my experience was truly a unique one, left me with all the satisfaction in the world, save for one lament: as a graduating senior, I wish that I could do it again! Danita Kolb.

Overall, I would say that the NMUN experience was fantastic. Each week, I learned something new because I was assigned to know a country’s position on a current event. The following week, I would have to play in character a different country. The benefit of that was enhancing my knowledge of current global issues. Another thing I particularly enjoyed about this type of class was the fact that it did not seem like a typical “class.” Everyone felt comfortable with one another and we laughed with one another during class. I think we learned something new from each and every person on the team. In addition to these things, I would say that I enjoyed working with a cast of students. We were each so different in our ways of doing things, but we all got along very well. The last and the most important aspect of the class was the trip to NYC. That was amazing. It was very exciting to interact with students from all over the world. I was in a small committee with only 50 countries. As a result, I had the opportunity to work closely with other delegates from the African bloc. We then took our combined ideas and presented them to other blocs. At the end when our committee voted, it was smooth sailing and not too many problems. Overall, you had to work hard in NY and beforehand, but looking back, it was an exceptional experience that I would recommend anyone doing. Christine Mooney.

The NMUN experience was very important for me, a great benefit and I am glad that I did it. I wish I would get the chance to be on an NMUN-team once again. You can not adequately describe the experience - you have to make it yourself. Make a great step in participating and let the team’s slogan come true: “together we aspire, together we achieve”. Stefan Obergottsberger.

National Model United Nations was a very rewarding experience. Not only did I have the opportunity to meet people that I never would have met otherwise, but I received first hand experience about the real United Nations. It also enhanced my interpersonal skills and knowledge about professional protocol. I firmly believe that some of my team members and I have become true friends from sharing our experience in NYC. Shana Semler.

It is hard to express my experiences with the 1999 Model UN team. I have had an uncanny natural high that I cannot get rid of every since returning from New York. I had such an amazing time this year (not to diminish last year). Our team this year was truly amazing, a great group of people. We laughed throughout he most stressful and frustrating times, and supported each other through the whole week. None of us felt like leaders, we all felt equal. I can just think back to New York, and our time together in Model UN, and I cannot help but to smile and feel good about what we all did, and how much fun we had. My experience is almost beyond words.… I cannot wait until the year 2000 Model UN competition. Steve Sutow.

I feel that the NMUN experience is perhaps one of the greatest of my college career! I really enjoyed working with such a diverse group of individuals. I admit that I was a little skeptical about going through with becoming a member, as I did not know what to expect. I feel that we worked very well with each other; this helped the experience meet and even surpass what I expected it to be. My only regret about the NMUN experience is that I waited until my last year at Rider to participate. I strongly recommend it. Levi Wilson

After all the simulations and preparations we did throughout the semester, it was exciting to go to New York and be a representative of both the Rider University and Botswana. It was a physically and psychically hard effort to prepare papers, to listen to and give speeches, to negotiate nearly the whole day. But in the end, when the paper become a draft resolution, the voting procedure took place, and the work of many hours was rewarded with a majority vote, I had the feeling that we all had done a good job. I will never forget that moment, and of course nothing else that made this week the most valuable experience in my academic education. Oliver Wunsch.

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