Notre Dame Academy formed the Model United Nations Club for the first time this year.  The NDA group has had its first meeting in Milwaukee, where they demonstrated what a real UN meeting looks like.

The 2012 WHSMUN Conference, Wisconsin High School Model United Nations, was held at the UW-Milwaukee campus on March 22-23.

Mr. Scott Mallien and Mr. Matt Schultz, social studies teachers at NDA, are advisers of this new organization. The club’s goal is to provide students a sense of how an international decision works as well as  give students the opportunity  to develop their leadership skills.

Model United Nations was a suggestion by junior Meghan Linehan, Mr. Mallien said.

Before going to Milwaukee for the conference simulation, NDA had to prepare a list of countries that they were willing to research and represent.  According to Mr. Mallien, after signing up, the group had to wait to see what country they received and the list of topics they had to research from the perspective of their assigned country.

In the simulation, students were required to research several topics:  Somali pirates, light and small weapons trafficking, drinking water, displaced refugees and micro financing, just to name a few. 

Students were to take the point of view of the country of Uganda and not as U.S. citizens. Mr. Mallien said they expected NDA members to participate and not be passively involved. He said they wanted students to ask questions and be involved in the discussion. 

Meghan Linehan, Martin Metzler, Hannah Stewart, Clara Bosco, Dylan Lange, Alyssa Florack and Hannah French represented the country of Uganda on a variety of international topics in the Model United Nations simulation.  Linehan was the Ugandan representative on the Human Rights Council of the UN.

Mr. Mallien said the students worked hard and had an excellent presentation in Milwaukee. 

“I think the students that participated exceeded our expectations and goals.  They did a great job of representing Uganda, but more than that they were positive role model for us here at Notre Dame.  It was a humbling experience for Mr. Schultz and me to see how passionate and engaged our students were in representing Uganda at the Wisconsin Model United Nations Conference.”

Mr. Mallien said the favorite student quote for the two-day event was “Uganda be kidding me!”

The club plans to continue next year.

Mr. Mallien said everybody is excited to move on and work on this project, which provides students a great opportunity in order to know what they want to be in the future.

“We hope to be more prepped and prepared for next year's event.  With the knowledge we learned from this year, we should be able to involve more students in a wide range of roles and opportunities and maybe expand,” he said.