SVSU’s Model United Nations Club represented the school Nov. 17 through Nov. 20 in Chicago at the 11th American Model United Nations Conference. Twenty-three students participated in committees that represented Ghana and Kazakhstan.
Students prepared for the conference during the Model UN course taught by Stewart French, an associate professor of political science.
Students won two team awards, and one team member won an individual award.
“We won awards collectively for each team for position papers,” French said. “Josh Cianek also won an award from his fellow delegates for being one of the top two justices on the court.”
Cameron Bruneau, the secretary general of Model UN, helped students prepare by running simulations and teaching them the rules.
“This year we did the Israel-Palestine conflict,” Bruneau said. “Essentially, we rotate students through different countries so that they get a first-hand experience of how they would interact with other people at the conference.”
At the conference, students can gain valuable experience in working in government positions. Students can practice public speaking, research, legal analysis, diplomacy and written and oral communication.
“The experiences I have gathered from being a part of Model UN thus far have been significantly beneficial to my academic career at SVSU along with my aspiring career in the legal profession,” said Cianek, a political science and history junior. “It has allowed me to take the concepts of diplomacy and legal analysis that I have acquired in my classes and apply them in a semi-real-world context.”
