MSU Model United Nations Conference
Angela Chea
Funds so that all DHS Model UN students will be able to participate in Michigan State University’s Model United Nations Conference (MSUMUN).
Each student is placed in a committee representing a country from the real United Nations. Each committee is assigned topics relating to global issues and crises. In advance of the conference, students are required to research both their country and their topics and write a position paper explaining their stance on each issue.
Once at the conference, students from dozens of schools within and outside of Michigan will debate and draft resolutions within their committees and compete for awards and recognition. This academic extracurricular activity (in its sixth year at DHS) develops the following skills and content areas:
- Research and writing skills
- analysis and problem solving
- public speaking, collaboration, and consensus building
- content knowledge of current global issues and political crises
For examples of types of topics covered, see the link below to last year’s MSUMUN Conference.
https://msumun.org/committees
In addition, students are preparing themselves for possible future professional careers. Students choose to join a committee and thoroughly research a topic in their area of interest. They gain skills in academic research, public policy, international diplomacy, debating, public speaking, and formal writing, to name a few. Many of the students who attend have a strong interest in careers in government, diplomacy, international affairs, and law.
They are also able to meet college students at MSU who run the committees. These interactions help them visualize themselves in a college environment, which is especially helpful for those students with limited funds to visit college campuses when considering post-high school educational opportunities. In the past, many of my Model UN students have expressed an interest in MSU’s James Madison School when we discussed the program after attending the conference.
It should also be noted that Model UN is considered an academic extracurricular and is viewed favorably by college admissions officers because of the amount and level of academic work involved.