Best Delegate sat down with New Hampshire-based MUN coach Cristina Drondoe to ask her a few questions about her experience at Best Delegate’s MUN Advisor Institute.
What did your week at the Advisor Institute consist of, and what do you feel you learned from these activities?
I had the privilege of attending the Advisor Institute few years ago and I am proud to say it was one of the best decisions I have made as Model UN Advisor. The timing was perfect. Back then I had only coached for one year so I was ready and determined to dedicate a portion of my summer to learning more about successfully guiding my students through the preparation stages for a conference, as well as get a better understanding of what participating in a conference entails. Since my training, I have been able to use many of the tools acquired through my experience at the Advisor Institute. Equally valuable, the connections with both Best Delegate staff as well as the other Advisors are still standing strong and I am very happy to be part of a community of people who are on a mission to encourage and support the younger generation in learning about the global issues and challenges our world faces today.
The Advisor Institute week was a truly comprehensive and robust training with a great variety of elements including lectures, activities, guest speakers, networking, a mini simulation, and a final exam. Ryan Villanueva, one of the two co-founders of Best Delegate, led most of our sessions. He was incredibly knowledgeable and instrumental at creating an engaging, interactive, and fun experience. His lectures, discussions, and hands on activities covered the research stages necessary to get a solid understanding of the assigned committee topic as well as country position on the topic. We delved into Position Paper writing and focused on what the main attributes of a well written paper are. Additionally, we discussed Resolutions and moved on to tackling the complex process of merging, being part of the Author’s Panel, and juggling up the Q&A session in a diplomatic, clever way. Not only was a good amount of time dedicated to Public Speaking, but we also explored and analyzed the Social Dynamics of both Moderated and Unmoderated Caucuses. Great emphasis was placed on how to help students work on and improve their negotiation, collaboration, and compromising skills through a diplomatic and tactful approach. Best Delegate had cultivated and cured a wealth of resources that were made available through the Advisor training and that led to an exponential improvement of the learning process in a very concrete way.
Ryan also dedicated a portion of this training to helping advisors understand the process of creating and running a Model UN club in all of its aspects.
We have also had the privilege of meeting some College Freshman students who have attended many Model UN conferences throughout their high school years and shared with us how Model UN helped them not only get into top colleges of their choice, but become informed and invested global citizens.
Last but not least, immersing the Advisors into a Model UN simulation at the end of the training was a great way of not only offering them the chance of using all the week long acquired experience and tools, but also to gain a better understanding of what their students are experiencing during a Model UN conference.
What sparked your interest in attending the Advisor Institute?
Ever since I discovered Model UN in 2014 I knew that I wanted to bring this experience to homeschool students. The more I read about it the more I realized the enormous amount of benefits that Model UN can bring to those involved. Not many classes or clubs out there expose their students to a myriad of interesting historical or literary topics, global affairs, immersive crisis situations where they have to think fast on their feet while multitasking, all while developing and perfecting their writing, public speaking, leadership, negotiating, compromising and soft skills. The expertise and toolkit the students gain through engaging in Model UN carry on far beyond the realm of high school. As a new Advisor, my goal was to be able to develop a teaching and coaching strategy that worked; I wanted to make sure that I was able to help my students in the best possible way so that those who are invested and dedicated end up learning, growing and having a wonderful, transformational experience. When I found out that Best Delegate was going to offer a Model UN Advisor Institute at Harvard University in Cambridge that summer, I knew that that was a main step towards achieving my goals.
How do you see the Advisor Institute benefiting you and your club moving forward?
After attending the Institute, I felt confidently equipped to teach Model UN and guide my students. The Advisor Training was my launching pad. Everything I built during the following years was based on that training, which offered me a nice, solid structure that I kept on molding and adapting to suit the needs of my students. My goal remains that our club will continue evolving in an authentic way that stimulates and encourages all of our students to give their best and aim at making the most out Model UN.
Would you recommend attending the Advisor Institute to other teachers/advisors? If so, why?
Absolutely! I believe both new as well as more seasoned Advisors would benefit from attending the Best Delegate Advisor Institute. For new Advisors, it will be the ideal starting point, taking a lot of the guesswork out of the equation and equipping them with a great strategy to move forward. For those more seasoned, it will provide them with the opportunity of fine tuning their expertise and enlarging their Model UN network with an amazing group of young professionals who are at the helm of Best Delegate as well as other Model UN Advisors that share their passion and goals.
