Preparing for our first Model UN conference, we all have no clue what’s going on. We hear terms such as “decorum,” “NGOs,” and many more Model UN terms that none of us knew existed. Then come the country assignments – you get assigned a country you have never heard of, and you’re stuck talking about a complex topic that your country has barely stated anything on the topic. Even though we have a tough time at our first Model UN conference, we leave feeling a burning passion for more debate.
Casey Wang entered her first Model UN conference at GTMUN (Georgia Tech Model United Nations) as the delegate from El Salvador. The committee was the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission. Her topic was Border Disputes between India and Pakistan. Casey says, “Being there was just so incredible like learning about the different issues that you probably wouldn’t study on your own”.
Casey attended the Model United Nations Institute in Georgetown University back in 2015. While she was exploring Georgetown University, it soon came to her that she had a passion for international affairs, and she even says that going to Georgetown for the Model United Nations Institute was one of the main inspirations that made her want to major in International Relations.
In addition, going to the camp made Casey a better public speaker, and it helped her understand the basics of Model UN. Casey says just the week she was there, she was able to learn so much, and she gained a lot of confidence while public speaking. Just going there really improved her as a delegate. Casey was inspired by the phrase, “The best delegate brings out the best in others”. Not only was she able to make herself a better delegate, but Casey has also made many friends from the Model United Nations Institute.
Most recently, Casey has chaired at a college level MUN conference hosted by Georgetown University. She says that the difference between the high school and college MUN circuits is that in the high school circuit, you mostly focus on General Assemblies, while in the college circuit push crisis committees. Most college conferences have crisis committees rather than large GAs. She says that chairing a college level MUN conference actually helped her feel less intimidated by collegiate level MUN.
Last year, Casey traveled to Budapest, Hungary to compete at the Yale Model Government Europe. This was the first time Casey had ever traveled to Europe. She says being in Budapest was amazing because she experienced a different culture, and she even got to learn a lot of European history while she was in Budapest. Casey also enjoyed competing against the European delegates. Casey also has competed at HACIA democracy held in Costa Rica. It was also Casey’s first time going to Latin America. Seeing different parts of the world was very exciting for Casey, and it has helped her learn about the different cultures throughout the planet.
After attending the Model United Nations Institute, Casey says that she stills keeps in touch with her delegation (aka the Cookie MUNsters). One of Casey’s memories from her friends from MUNI was when two international students loved Cheerios, and they didn’t have Cheerios in the respective countries. Once they returned home, Casey sent them both boxes of Cheerios! Casey says that she has learned a lot from the other members of her group.
Finally, Casey says that a word of advice she has for MUNI is to make sure you make a lot of friends at Best Delegate because the friends she made at the camp are still her friends today, “…and it’s really cool because I have friends in Russia and in Switzerland…it’s really neat that BD brings in people together from different backgrounds who are into MUN.”
