While we are hopeful that the pandemic’s end is coming soon, as we approach our second COVID summer, high school students continue feeling lost on how to fill this time in a meaningful way. There is a shared feeling of apathy amongst high school students around the globe, along with a loss of the passions that fueled our souls pre-pandemic. Particularly for high school students for whom this summer will be the last before they enter college in the fall. These high school seniors have lost their junior and senior years and are simply desperate for any way to feel confident and prepared in entering college in the fall. Luckily, Best Delegate’s renowned virtual summer programs are specially curated in a way to prepare students with the skills and experiences to empower future leaders to face the challenges of college and beyond.
Best Delegate’s virtual programs teach and strengthen students the ability to problem-solve by providing a platform for students to debate pressing issues and find solutions for them. In guiding students through approaching these large-scale problems, it prepares them with the tools to take on any problem that may come their way. Students truly learn by doing, testing out what works in problem-solving, and what doesn’t, authentically but in a safe and low-risk setting. Whether it be at college or in the workforce, the ability to problem solve is a skill that is highly valued and necessary.
In addition to becoming a master problem-solver, Best Delegate’s virtual programs allow students to learn how to collaborate in a virtual setting. If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it is that so much of the work that we do can be done online. In learning this, many companies have decided to cut back on in-person activities and office space. Similarly, colleges will most likely follow in their footsteps, with more club events and meetings being hosted virtually and perhaps courses too.
With this in mind, students must be equipped with the experience and skills to evolve with the times. Best Delegate’s virtual programs are designed for collaboration. Through this, they are able to learn how to work in teams, with all the barriers that may come with technology. While this may seem like an easy switch to adapt to, it isn’t. For students who have spent their entire lives learning in person, this switch can be jarring. Some students find themselves struggling to hone in on their basic communication skills in a virtual setting. From working with students year-round and throughout the pandemic, Best Delegate’s virtual programs understand these struggles and work with students to combat these blind spots to prepare them for the future. Virtual programs help students build the confidence to express their ideas boldly in large groups of people while simultaneously learning to leverage technology and platforms like Zoom to work with their colleagues to succeed.
And, while we could go on about the hard skills developed through virtual programs, the more profound takeaways are the greater lessons you learn about people and life. Virtual programs provide the opportunity to learn about the nature of people at their highest of highs and lowest of lows. Students observe their peers in a vast variety of circumstances from high-stress situations to victorious celebrations. MUN’ers will find that the lessons they learn through MUN, can be applied to all aspects of life, from negotiation to conflict resolution. Virtual programs truly provides the greatest representation of people, in all forms.
Take it from a MUN’er himself, while the world beyond high school seems daunting right now, with skills and experiences there is no mountain you cannot climb. But, to develop these skills we must be open to growth, and to grow we must be challenged. With the help of Best Delegate along the way, there is no chance one student will walk out not feeling like a changed person, ready to take on the world.
