Imagine taking on the role of an entirely different country, researching that nation’s viewpoints on a specific topic, and representing that country in front of a group of people simulating the United Nations.  That’s what Montrose’s Model United Nations (MUN) will be doing on October 24th at St. John’s School in Shrewsbury.  The St. John’s conference is held specifically for novices and newcomers to Model UN, providing an excellent chance to learn the ropes of the Model UN Team collaboration process.

Over the past few weeks, Montrose’s MUN advisor Mrs. Forsgard has been meeting with a eight upper class students to prepare for this conference. The team represents the central African country of Chad.  Mrs. Forsgard allowed the girls to choose committees to join at the conference, such as the World Health Organization, the UN Development Program, the UN Children’s Fund, Social Cultural and Decolonization, the Commission on the Status of Women, the Legal Committee, and the World Bank.  By representing Chad in each of these areas, students hope to gain experience in capturing how the nation of Chad views the issues under discussion.

Mary Glynn ‘17 said, “I have the Ensuring Environmental Sustainability Committee, so  my job is to research and prepare my position as a delegate of Chad on Chad’s environmental history, state and outlook.”  Nathalie Falcao ’17 said, “I’m doing a lot of research through Google, and I’m using my highlighter a lot to identify key points.” After conducting research on the chosen committee, the girls must each write a position paper on Chad’s perspective about that topic.  Although a position paper may sound like a lengthy essay, it is actually a 3-4 paragraph explanations that includes evidence, examples, and past actions by Chad relevant to the topic. The position paper allows Montrose’s own “delegates from Chad” to represent Chad in a fact-based way.  

Not only does MUN allow for the development of speaking skills,the club also provides an interesting new perspective on history, current events and world affairs.  Members say that the club will encourage a new perspective on other nations as well as on the United States’ past and present interactions with outside countries.  Nathalie Falcao ’17 said, “I think it’s super interesting and eye-opening…It’s not like a history class because we are finding solutions to problems instead of just learning about them.  Through MUN, I hope to gain new perspective.”  

Mary Glynn ‘17 agreed: “It’s interesting, challenging, and fun.”  Although  the first MUN team of eight Montrosians feels a bit nervous about the upcoming conference, they also feel confident and excited thanks to Mrs. Forsgard’s encouragement and guidance.