THE ECHO

by Holly Edwards

What grade are you in?  

11th  

What clubs are you a part of?  

Model UN, Student Government, Eco Club, Speech & Debate 

What are your leadership roles?  

Model UN Co-President with Macy Lingle, Student Government Senate 

What do you do in Model UN?  

We roleplay as different countries and deal with various issues ranging from climate change to colonizing the moon. We basically just argue with each other over these topics and compromise to make a plan. We also get to go to conferences down in colleges like IU where we get to dress formally and have debates in front of real professors. 

Why Model UN?  

I have always been a fan of history and arguing about random things which is basically what Model UN is. I thought it would be funny that I was going to get up there and argue with random people. I also saw it to expand my public-speaking skills and get better in that aspect. 

How do you and Co-President Macy Lingle collaborate?

Macy is usually more behind the scenes. She has more to do with creating the presentations. I try to be more up front, leading, talking to people… really getting to interact. We really work well together. I couldn’t do any of this without Macy. She’s super good at coming up with the presentations and the ideas.

What has been your favorite topic in Model UN? 

I like a mix of both topics, the unserious are great for just laughing with your friends and coming up with funny solutions on why you should do things like colonizing the moon. But it’s also nice to discuss serious topics and have real debates with people. 

How do you deal with difficult topics? 

We tend to avoid topics that have a lot of controversy in them such as Israel and Ukraine. Every now and then people will bring them up or their personal biases in discussions, but nobody else will forward the conversation. It’s a great community that nobody wants to bring harm to, so we try to shut things down as quickly as possible. 

Do you have any tips for succeeding in Model UN? 

Just go up there and speak, I know I was scared at first, but it doesn’t matter if you mess up or your point isn’t entirely clear. Say what you want to say, that is what I would tell freshman me to do. 

How would you suggest a student gets into Model UN? 

Be passionate, find a topic that interests you and defend that topic till you die. Be confident in your speaking, you have to speak so confidence will make your time much more enjoyable. Just have a good time and don’t stress yourself out, at the end of the day it’s all fun.