Model United Nations at La Salle

The Model United Nations (MUN) is an extracurricular activity at La Salle which has taken place since 2005. It allows students to grasp a full understanding of how the United Nations operates. The point of this group is to learn about how the United Nations works and develop a broad understanding of its nature. To understand how countries and cultures work on a different level than every studied before...trust me, you will know everything there is to know about the country you are representing. It touches on today's critical world issues and allows you to understand them more in depth on a country basis and important international topics. Your communication skills will flourish as getting up in front of 200 people might be a challenge at first, but it will be something that you have overcome and an amazing feeling when it is accomplished. More importantly, you get to go to NEW YORK CITY to show off your skills. 

La Salle has represented the following organizations and countries in the past 5 years:    

•     World Bank (2005)
•     Burundi (2006)
•     Uzbekistan (2007)*
•     Colombia (2008)*
•     Malaysia (2009)

  I was part of the Model United Nations Team in 2009. We worked hard from the beginning of October until the final days of March before we took off to NYC on April 3rd. What an experience!! As 13 excited and a little jet-lagged students arrived at JFK airport and made our way into the city. While driving by the skyline it hit us all...we are here to get a job done! Ten days split down the middle, 5 days of work, 5 days of play! How hard can it be? Oooooh..let me tell you! It is NOT easy. You are surrounded by crazy and over-enthusiastic UN geeks who know the UN Charter inside out. Who eat, live and breathe for this! I was in SHOCK. I knew it was going to be chaotic, loud, messy and all around had to be feisty in order to get a word in. So that is what we did. After long days and short nights due to the lack of sleep we made it through. Thanks to our wonderful teachers Mr. German Aragon and Rafael G. Monroy (pictures on the top right) we would never have made it half way to NY without their expertise and wisdom! We learned about new countries, met new people, made new friends, and lived the New York City life! This is when hard work pays off! We were able to visit the United Nations headquarters where the opening and closing ceremony was held. The Malaysian Consulate welcomed us with open arms and allowed us to ask any questions we had before entering the conference. I recommend everyone to join the MUN team while they can at La Salle. It is currently offered to all 2nd to 4th year students. It is definitely worth it and it looks great on your CV as well! The requirements are tough, be prepared to think, write and act like a diplomat. Check out http://www.salle.url.edu/bachelors/ and you will find your way into the Model United Nations page.