by Sam Giudice, Arkansas Alumni Association communications intern.
What does a group of students from all different majors and colleges across the University of Arkansas who have never met each other do? Well, they compete at the National Model United Nations (UN) Washington, D.C. conference and bring home over 50 percent of all awards. Economics professor Robert Stapp has created a mythical beast at the University of Arkansas, turning groups of strangers into nationally competitive debaters for over 10 years. Founded in 2011, the University of Arkansas Model United Nations team has seen 300 students, 50 nationally competitive awards, five countries, and 15 cities.
This year’s Model UN team comes from all around campus and hosts students from all around the world. Representing majors such as economics, marketing, international studies, political science, and biochemistry, students, who normally would never have met one another, worked in close quarters for months. Model UN is a true soft skill enhancer. As a senior, I went from shaking in my boots presenting to 20 people to a confident speaker in front of more than 100. That development and experience are unparalleled in most of my other courses. Above just speaking, the research that goes into preparing you for Model United Nations is grueling stuff. It requires a lot of time and work to produce the best position paper possible. While I would consider myself a rather strong writer, the concision needed for position paper writing is something I had never had to do before. Working with a partner and therefore having more opinions that need to be incorporated, left my partner and me with five pages when we first began. Five pages would have to be turned into two. We had to cut out the “fluff” and get to the important aspects of what we wanted to talk about. It has made me far more capable to produce concise 500-word personal statements for graduate school applications and improved my academic career overall.
Another valuable experience from Model United Nations is the way it places you into the global sphere. It is easy to sit in a classroom and talk about all the wrongs that happen, but that often leaves me feeling empty at the unfairness within contemporary society. Model UN allowed me to experience how change happens, and the feeling of working in a room with others to achieve a solution. While the actual experience does not flow as easily as it does among college students, it nonetheless helped me to practice what I learn in the classroom and gain real-life experience. Also, the Washington, D.C. conference was filled with students from different universities and people from around the world. In my committee alone, there were students from Morocco, Italy, and Taiwan. The cultural aspect of this conference showed me the way that members of vastly different cultures can work together towards an issue and better prepared me to work within an environment where not all members are entering the sphere with the same level of social understanding or cultural background.
“Do it, 100%. Just do it.” This sentiment was given by over five different students when asked about what they would say to students interested in taking part in Model United Nations. Walton Business Economics Senior James Wallis said “Model UN has been the most fulfilling thing that I’ve ever done in my college career.” Wallis cited Model UN as one of “the most beneficial soft skill enhancers that I’ve ever seen,” in areas such as writing and public speaking. But Model UN also serves as a way for students to gain the ability to compromise. Rwandan junior Biochemistry major Iana Rhuerta stated that the DC conference “had a lot of people from Morocco, Italy, Belgium, Taiwan and even different schools around the country,” so the experience “emits the real-life experience that when we go to the work field, or wherever we go in the future, we will always be bound to find and work with people from different places.”
Model UN allows students to take classroom skills and apply them in real-life experiences. The University of Arkansas hosts many talented faculty and staff, but the added experience of utilizing the teachings allows the students to exemplify themselves and the university at national and international conferences. This year’s Model UN team was no different, and the awards brought home to the University of Arkansas serve as a reminder of what happens when students are passionate and try their hardest.
Samantha Giudice is an Arkansas Alumni endowed scholar from Bethel Heights and a member of the University of Arkansas Model United Nations team.
