Involvement in International Organizations on Campus
Penn State International Affairs and Debate Association My involvement with the Penn State International Affairs and Debate Association (PSIADA) defines my college experience. PSIADA organizes Model United Nations (MUN) conferences for college and high school students from all over the world, and competes at conferences along the East Coast. Lifelong friendships have been forged in PSIADA with other students of varying backgrounds and cultures, and I have learned not only to debate, but to converse about the most important of issues. Over my three years in PSIADA I have served in a number of leadership positions. Sophomore Year As the Director of Marketing for the ninth annual Pennsylvania United Nations Conference (PUNC IX), I developed a sales packet, secured sponsorships, and created promotional material. As a crisis director, I researched, designed, and ran a committee on civil unrest in Baku in 1918. Crisis directing requires one to think quickly and act definitively while managing the actions of fifteen to twenty separate delegates. Additionally, I led a staff of entirely new members, requiring me to provide mentorship as well as general guidance. Junior Year During my junior year the president appointed me to serve as the Integrity Counselor -- a non-voting officer on the executive board who confidentially addresses the concerns of club members and ensures club actions follow university and PSIADA policy. Being the Integrity Counselor requires one to constantly think bigger than one's self in considering how best to handle matters fairly and most effectively. I am also the Director of Logistics for the fourth annual Pennsylvania High School United Nations Conference (PHUNC IV), which entails reserving , creating, and coordinating all conference materials and locations. I faced an additional challenge of serving in this role while abroad, requiring me to coordinate across timezones to attend meetings or speak with contacts. Finally, as the Chief of Staff for PUNC X, I aid the Secretary General in all decision-making matters and help coordinate the team creating the conference. Senior Year In fall of my senior year, I led the fifth iteration of the Pennsylvania High School United Nations Conference in November 2017 as the Secretary-General. As the Secretary-General, I appointed eight members to the planning committee, which I led for the conference over the course of the year. The final conference included 11 committees, 80 general staff members, 200 high school students, and raised $9500 in profit. I also helped run a joint-crisis committee focused on the city governments of Berlin. |
Penn State United Nations Campus Advocates - UNA-USA Campus Chapter
During my freshman year, I helped found the campus chapter of UNA-USA on Penn State's campus in order to support the work of the United Nations. Over the rest of my college career, I served as the Vice President for Communications, Vice President for Strategic Planning, and the President. I helped to organize fundraisers for the Shot-At-Life campaign, which raises money to buy vaccines for children, and organized a benefit concert for the Adopt-a-Future Campaign, which sponsors the schooling of refugee children. As President, I also organized a trip to Washington, D.C. to take part in an advocacy workshop with Anna Mahalak, the Youth Engagement Manager at the United Nations Foundation, and hosted two speakers, John Rutherford Seydel III of Revolution Nation and Josh Slusher of the Global Entrepreneurs Council of the UN Foundation. Finally, I facilitated the Penn State campus chapter's participation in Global Classrooms International Model United Nations in New York City in May 2017. I myself attended as a Conference Services Coordinator, and assisted with logistical aspects of event planning while working with an international team of students from across the United States, Mexico, and Lebanon. |