Whew! KFC and I have been on a whirlwind tour this past month teaching Model UN, leadership skills, and college admissions at three different week-long summer programs. At the same time, we submitted our Mission: Small Business application with over 300 votes. And we’ve been juggling all this while traveling from Yale University to Southern California to Saudi Arabia. It’s been an exhausting month!
The inaugural class of the Yale Model United Nations Institute (YMUNI) posing outside of the United Nations
This past month has been a watershed moment for KFC and me, both professionally and personally, and a big step forward for Best Delegate and Model UN.
I never imagined that I’d be back at Yale to teach Model UN professionally. I never thought I’d launch a Model UN summer camp in Southern California. I never expected such a strong showing of support from our family, friends, and fans for Mission: Small Business. And I never dreamed that I would get to visit Saudi Arabia as part of my Model UN journey.
KFC and one of our Best Delegate interns, Erika (far right), with a small group of students during lunch at the Best Delegate Summer Camp at UC Irvine
Don’t get me wrong; this past month had its ups as well as its downs, and it got very stressful at times. But the experience was overwhelmingly positive, and it served as a great reminder for why KFC and I decided to do what we now do. And it made us extremely grateful for everyone who helped us coordinate and teach our summer programs, everyone who voted and supported us for Mission: Small Business, and especially each and every one of our students.
To the Best Delegate community: thank you for helping us make all of this possible.
KFC teaching a class on negotiation to a group of university students in Saudi Arabia
The Best Delegate Summer Tour is only half over. Next week, KFC is going to teach Model UN in Hawaii and I’m meeting friends in Japan who work for the UN. KFC will also represent Best Delegate at the Model UN Workshop being organized by the United Nations at the end of August.
And we’re both heading back to the Middle East this September to speak at the Model UN Leadership Summit hosted by THIMUN Qatar, before returning to North America to kick off the 2012-2013 Model UN season.
Best Delegate will visit the Middle East again this September!
We’ll share more pictures, stories, and lessons from our summer programs over the next couple weeks. In the meantime, let us know in the comments where you’re going this summer!
