The Model UN Institute is a program that provides students the opportunity to become the best MUN delegates they can be. By providing a one-of-a-kind experience to many students of varying levels of expertise, the MUN Institute has fostered the development of many leaders and Best Delegates. This year, the MUNI Media Team interviewed Rauda Al-Tenaiji, a MUNI alumni who started a Model UN Club at the Liwa International School in UAE, about her experience at the MUN Institute!
How did you become interested in Model UN?
My dream job is to be an ambassador, but in order for me to be good at my future job, I needed to gain many skills like diplomacy, public speaking and leadership skills. Model UN truly helped me gain those skills by providing many activities that are related to each skill. For instance, MUN helped me enhance my public speaking skills by using the speech structure called “ Hook Point Action”, and using this speech structure to talk in front of an audience.
What is the biggest lesson you took away from the MUN Institute?
Choose your words wisely! There is always proper way to discuss matters with others, especially in critical issues.
What was your favorite part of the MUN Institute?
My favorite part of MUN institute was making friends from all around the world! We had the chance to share our experiences together, talk about our favorite music and food, and we educated each other about our cultures.
What are some of your personal, academic, and professional goals that MUN can help with?
MUN helped me tremendously in all aspects. I’ve always wanted to discuss issues by stating facts from trusted sources, and MUN taught me techniques that help me conduct proper research on issues. Moreover, Model UN helped me find my voice, which led me to be recognized by the school’s administration, and I took the chance to discuss starting my MUN club. It should be noted that Model UN paved the way for me to reach my professional goal, to be an ambassador, by teaching me all the basic skills needed to be a good ambassador.
How did you start your own Model UN club? What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?
To be honest, I struggled when starting my own Model UN club in school for many reasons. It was a struggle to conduct a meeting with the administration about MUN because they didn’t view MUN as “crucial enough” to conduct a meeting until the day I went to a different school to be a guest speaker and talked about my experience with MUNI. After being a guest speaker, my school received an email about me being a guest speaker, which led them to finally conduct a meeting about starting my MUN club. Another challenge I faced was when recruiting members, not many students knew about MUN, so I had to constantly talk to students briefly about MUN during lunchtime and free periods; however, I quickly overcame this obstacle and recruited a good amount of students that are interested in joining my MUN club.
Did you use any lessons from the MUN Institute to help start your club?
Yes! I am using the negotiation skills with my MUN team members during meetings to solve any issues that occur within the club like time-management, and the COVID-19 outbreak that is temporarily suspending the club from conducting any meeting or conference.
To take part in this transformative experience, sign up for one of many Model United Nations Institute programs taking place around the country this summer! Also be sure to check out our new program: MUN Online Debates, for an opportunity to develop your leadership and debating skills while interacting with delegates from all around the world! Click here to learn more about the online debate program.
