Ko'u Hopkins sits down with the students of the UIS Model United Nations team as they discuss their steps to the international Model United Nations conference in New York.
Transcribed by AI with Human review:
Ko’u:
Hello, I'm your host for today's Community Voices, Ko’u Hopkins. And today I am very excited to bring in some fellow students to talk about the success and joys of being part of the UIS Model United Nations team. Could our guests please introduce themselves?
Ignat:
Hello, my name is Ignat Striletskyi. I'm a senior at the University of Illinois at Springfield. I did Model United Nations for two years, and I'm excited to be here today.
Ko’u:
Thank you, and I know we have another guest.
Carolina:
Hi, I'm Carolina Hurtado. I'm a senior also at University of Illinois Springfield, and this is my second year in National Model United Nations.
Caleb:
Hello, my name is Caleb Grover, and I'm a second-year graduate student here at UIS, finishing a master's degree in political science. I'm happy to be here today.
Ko’u:
I must be honest here, as I have to say that I was also a part of the UIS NMUN team this year, so today's guests are also my friends. Thank you so much to you guys for coming in today. So Carolina, what made you want to be a part of the NMUN team?
Carolina:
For me, it was more about just having the opportunity. Model United Nations is something that like I've always wanted to do. It unfortunately wasn't offered in my high school. So coming into college and hearing that it was an opportunity here, I was very excited for that. So just being able to be at the UN and being able to collaborate with others, like that's really what drew me in.
Ko’u:
Do you feel like being at the UN and part of the team, has it helped you in your future?
Carolina:
Oh, absolutely. I think as someone who wants to go into the Foreign Service eventually, being able to have that exposure and interact with people from all over the world, it really helps solidify that this is what I want to do in my life. So yeah, I think Model UN prepares you for the future. exposes you to things that we might not be able to be exposed here in the Midwest in the long run.
Ko’u:
So what was the best part of this year's NMUN trip for you?
Carolina:
For me, the best part was probably the connections I was able to build, not just with the other schools and other delegations, but also within our own delegation. We're in class for two semesters. We're together, but we don't really get to know each other until we're actually in New York. So being able to explore the city and have dinners with everyone and just relax, that's really a great part. And you build these connections, and now I have lifelong friends.
Ko’u:
What have been some of the favorite friendships of yours that you made at NMUN?
Carolina:
I mean, obviously I have Ko'u, who is a great support for me. Ignat has also been a great support. He's a great friend to have around, someone that you know you can always rely on. There's also, you know, our mentors, Jacob, who has really helped guide us in this journey, Romi, just our entire delegation. I know I can text any one of them and I can rely on them for really anything.
Ko’u:
Thank you so much, Carolina, for your responses. I really appreciate it. But I don't want to take too much time away from our other guests. Ignat, so what has been your greatest success in NMUN?
Ignat:
I would say of course greatest success in NMUN for me was getting outstanding delegation award last year and being able to get honorable mention this year. I think this year group was very diverse and as same as the last year. We have a lot of newcomers as well as those who are standing and doing that month for a couple years or even more. I think that cooperation that was built in the conference as well as in the university I think that's what we should be proud of and I think that should be considered as a great success for us. I would also say that current international realm require us to be more friendly to each other and also find a mutual understanding in a lot of questions. So I would say that our delegation and university in general did a great job doing that and cooperating and finding similarities and a lot of mutual connections. I think this is the biggest success for this year's team.
Ko’u:
And I know from last year's team, everyone has kind of won an award or had greater collaboration. So what do you say this year or last year is your favorite?
Ignat:
I wouldn't say something is favorite or not because obviously it's two different experiences, very different groups and so on. But both trips were unique on their on overall in the volume, right? NMUN, as I mentioned, the last year group was more experienced, so we had much more awards and we had more kind of understanding of how to conduct and do and Model United Nations. This year group required more time to adapt to the new settings, as well as to understand what is Model United Nations. United Nations is and learn, some people even learn about Model United Nations from the scratch. So even with that, this year we were able to get an honorable mention. So I think it's only underlying the work that we were able to put in the class and also after class because United Nations and Model United Nations as a class requires a lot of homework requires a lot of work outside of the class and I think that this group that were very fresh and very young this year have a very great potential and compared to last year, last year group had so much wisdom and now we can see this wisdom being implemented in the states, jobs and international agencies. In different forums or conferences, because, as I said, a lot of guys getting this experience in Model United Nations, and they bring in this experience and using it in different capacities, as well as in a different field of expertise, so for sure... Last year was great. A lot of wisdom, a lot of great emotions and time. But this year I have more expectations from the newer group because they have so much potential and so much things ahead of them that I bet they'll make proud, they'll make university proud and they'll make proud their families and friends.
Ko’u:
So Carolina, I kind of jumping back to you for a second. Which of the years was your favorite? Was it last year or this year?
Carolina:
I mean, I can't really say that I have a favorite. I think like Ignat said, they're both very different experiences from each other. This year, definitely we kind of stepped into more of a leadership role, being our second year and losing so many of our other delegates who graduated and moved on. So this year we really stepped into that role. So it was definitely interesting to see it from that perspective where we were guiding our partners and just really going through the motions and helping them prepare how we were prepared. So that was this year, obviously. Last year it was scary at first, I won't lie, not knowing what to really expect and walking into the UN for the first time. It was just amazing. But they each have their own charms, and I'm just glad I was able to participate for both years. So yeah, I can't really say that I have a favorite, but they both have their own unique charms.
Ko’u:
Thank you so much. And Caleb, could you please tell us what you love most about NMUN?
Caleb:
The thing I love most about the National Model United Nations Conference is collaborating with students from across the world. There are dozens of countries that are represented, each by a university. And it's fun to collaborate with these students because they know what's best for their country. And being Nepal, as we were this year, we were able to collaborate with not only regional countries, but also countries from across the rest of the globe.
Ko’u:
So this year we were in Nepal. And do you believe that NMUN has changed you at all for this year, especially changing the country every year? Here and who you represent. Do you feel like it has changed you as a person, as a student, or has it changed your aspirations for the future at all?
Caleb:
I thoroughly believe that NMUN has changed me for the better. What the National Model United Nations Conference is able to do is give a fresh perspective on international relations. Where I focus more so on domestic politics, it's also nice to learn that collaboration is key, not only domestically here in the United States, but also across the world. The United Nations has established sustainable development goals. So these are incredibly ambitious goals that cannot be accomplished without a team effort. And that is something that NMUN brings to the table.
Ko’u:
I think many times people forget how much collaboration actually works in the world because there is so much that goes behind any part of legislation or any part of international relations. Teamwork is really the dream work. And I think that through Model United Nations for our college and for other colleges, I know how important it is, especially as we are going into the job field. And in the future, collaboration is so key. So Caleb, I know that this is your second year that you have gone. So you went maybe two years ago, you took a break, and then now you're back. Do you think that it has changed at all for the UIS team?
Caleb:
So yes, as you mentioned, I was a second year in MUN student, but I did take a gap year. And there is quite a difference between the first year and the second year. The first year, obviously, there's the perception that everyone else knows what they're doing. And having been in those shoes, I totally understand. So what I was able to bring to the table this year after taking a year off was What I was able to realize is there are people from all over the world that have different levels of experience with NMUN. And it's easy to jump in with all the expertise that UIS comes to the conference with, but it also helps to extend an olive branch to students and collaborate with them. For example, this year we were in Nepal, but we also worked with France, who was a new delegation, and they had new delegates. So we were able not only to work with our regional partners, but also partners in Europe, which we wouldn't have otherwise worked with if we didn't recognize that there are different levels of experience attending the conference.
Ko’u:
So Caleb, what has been the best experience about NMUN for you this year?
Caleb:
My favorite part of the conference is working on working papers and turning them into draft resolutions. There's an entire process from the start of the simulation where once a topic is picked, countries immediately group together to find solutions to the topic to with the ultimate hopes of creating a draft resolution. And not all working papers become draft resolutions, because at some point, the dais, which is essentially the leader of the committee, will request that working papers merge together. And that's my favorite part of the conference, is you're working with a group of people that you've become familiar with all week, but then all of a sudden, you're forced to merge with another group who may have totally different interests. And I find that compromise to be enticing, and that's definitely my favorite part of the conference.
Ko’u:
I'm glad that you guys have gained so much knowledge and has had so much fun with this experience. But Ignat, what was the greatest lesson that you learned from NMUN? Because I know you talk a lot about last year and this year, but what do you think has been the best lesson?
Ignat:
The best lesson is stay connected. I think that's what matters the most. meeting people from all over the globe, right? From France, from Germany, from South America, from Africa, from Asia, this is something that building the bridge not only between the nations and the countries, but also between us as just human beings, right? Work towards the global goals, like sustainable development goals that United Nations defined as one of the priorities of their work. Also, meeting the peers from last year, I had so much great time talking to the peers from last year, Model United Nations, who are willing to come back, or some Model United Nations people who are right now working in United Nations. So for sure, connection and cooperation were the greatest lesson I took from Model United Nations and the conference itself. It's also kind of resonated with my kind of passion to support Mod United Nation team at UIS, right?
A lot of donors and a lot of sponsors supported us to do this club, this organization, right, and participate in those kind of conferences. This is because those people believe in the mission that our school and our club doing and they believe in cooperation is something that bringing young generation to the table to discuss global issues and solve global problems. So I would definitely underline this term as a connection and myself as a young guy from Ukraine who will never dream of being in building in New York City that had people like John Kennedy, President Zelensky, President Macron, and actually stand on the floor and feel the spirit of this leadership and understand that you're part of it and making connections and have believed that someday you'll be in those kind of floors making decisions for the best of our community and society. That's what you're driving me forward.
And again, thank you so much for everybody who actually contributed to our team and made this trip possible for us because without our generous donors and without university administration, that won't be possible. But also I want to say thank you so much for all the people I met in this conference because they were all amazing, friendly, and I have no less, no more, but only, positive, positive emotions after this conference.
Ko’u:
I must say that as a fellow student, I'm also very, very thankful for all the donors, the teachers, the students, everyone who has ever helped us, who have ever been in contact with us, whoever I worked with in New York, especially even working in the classroom. I'm thankful for everyone, and I'm so thankful for the kindness, the generosity, and the time they have given us. And Carolina, I know you also share these sentiments.
Carolina:
I do, I do. I truly do want to thank all of our wonderful sponsors, our, you know, our peers, you know, our team made it a great, a great experience and just everyone who was involved in allowing us to have this opportunity. I hope we did the university justice and I hope we represented them in a good name.
Ko’u:
And Caleb, I know that you have a special message also for our sponsors.
Caleb:
Yeah, I would like to thank the loyal donors, the staff and the faculty at UIS who support National Model United Nations here, as well as my fellow students who have supported me along the way.
Ko’u:
Thank you again to all of you for taking time out of your very, very busy schedules, because as students, and especially as you guys are all graduating, I'm very proud to call you my friends, and I wish you all the best in the future. And thank you so much again for coming on and sharing your personal stories and insights about the Model United Nations.
Carolina:
Thank you for having us.
Ignat:
Thank you so much. I hope everybody who listened to this will continue to make their impact on their own unique way, because that's what mattered the most. Thank you so much.
Carolina:
All right, yeah, thank you, and we're excited to pass on the torch for everyone.
Ko’u:
Thank you so much, everyone, for your time for today, and thank you so much all for coming in. And I always appreciate all your help that you've given me through the classes and outside as our friendship has only grown. Thank you so much, and thank you for listening to today's episode of Community Voices by me, Ko’u Hopkins.
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