April 21, 2015
UM Model United Nations Students Travel to New York City to Represent the Kingdom of Bahrain at the Spring 2015 International Conference
MISSOULA – Twelve University of Montana students on the Montana Model United Nations Team spent five days in committee and plenary sessions acting as delegates of the Kingdom of Bahrain among 3,500 students from across the globe.
Students represented the Kingdom of Bahrain on the following committees:
· Andrew Surratt of Missoula, Senior, Political Science, served on the Treaty on Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
· Mariah Leder of Missoula, Senior, Political Science, also served on the Treaty of Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
· Betsy Story, of Emigrant, Junior, Political Science, Russian and Arabic, served on the United Nations Environmental Programme.
· Maggie Hering, of Salem, Oregon, Junior, Political Science, French and Arabic, also served on the United Nations Environmental Programme.
· Dani Howlett of Polson, Senior, Political Science, International Development and Global Public Health, served in the General Assembly Second Committee.
· Megan Harbaugh of Spokane Washington, Junior, Political Science, Economics and Music, also served in the General Assembly Second Committee.
· Mary O’Malley, Junior, of Maysville West Virginia, Political Science, served in the General Assembly Third Committee.
· Jared Halvorson, Sophomore, of Missoula, Economics, Political Science and Mathematics, also served in the General Assembly Third Committee.
· Sydney Ausen of Billings, Senior, Spanish and International Development Studies, served in the Economic and Social Commission of Western Asia.
· Wyatt B. Smith of Missoula, Freshman, Economics and Political Science, also served in the Economic and Social Commission of Western Asia.
· Cody Meixner of Missoula, Junior, Political Science, Arabic and History, served in the General Assembly First Committee.
· James Alan Rolph of Seattle Washington, Senior, Journalism and Political Science, also served in the General Assembly First Committee.
The team thoroughly enjoyed interacting with students from all over the globe while acting in the capacity of a diplomat of a nation that is far from their own home and culture. One highlight of working long hours in committee and voting procedures for Mary O’Malley was that she “enjoyed working across cultures not only through the countries we represented but through each delegations origin.” Wyatt Smith also enjoyed the international aspect of the conference. Said Smith, “I loved working with students from all over the world who had differing perspectives on almost everything. It was also memorable to spend time with delegates outside of committee sessions and hear their stories about how they ended up in New York.”
The team members were divided into two-person teams for each committee, and each team worked hard to either write or substantially edit and contribute to a ‘working paper’ with anywhere from five to thirty other delegates. The sizes of the Committees ranged from around thirty to up to one hundred and eighty delegations.
Mariah Leder, serving in one of the more intimate committees recalled: “My most memorable moment was when I facilitated a discussion between working groups and was perceived as the great mediator of the group, my authority, opinions, and diplomatic skills were respected and trusted. After the discussion I was thanked repeatedly by every group present.”
For Jared Halvorson, the most memorable experience was the closing ceremony, when most of the team had visited the United Nations for the very first time. “The feeling of being in the General Assembly Hall at the UN is one I will never forget. As our speaker told us, there are very few rooms like it in the world, where so many wars have been preempted.”
In preparation for the National Model U.N. Conference, the team researched the political atmosphere and history of the region, in order to represent Bahrain as accurately as possible while serving as ‘diplomats’ in New York City. As well as participating in four full days of committee proceedings, the team visited Bahrain’s Mission to the United Nations, and met with the Bahraini staff. To the team’s delight, one of the diplomats had actually participated in National Model United Nations several years prior and was eager to discuss his experience in the program compared to his current job as a real diplomat.
Although the experience of being in New York City itself was found to be one of the greatest highlights of the trip, each team member agreed that the diplomacy and foreign policy making skills they made at the Conference was highly valuable and will play a factor in any continued work they do with Model United Nations and their future careers.
For more information or to acquire photos of the team during the conference, visit the MMUN Team website at http://www.cas.umt.edu/mun/TravelingTeam/, you can call incoming NMUN Team President Betsy Story at (406) 223-9043 or email her at .