On October 11th and 12th, the Model UN Club hosted two guest speakers. The purpose of bringing in the guest speakers was to explain the role of the United Nations in the world and its relevant processes. On Tuesday, the club hosted Professor Benny Widyono, who is adjunct professor of Economics at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Widyono (my great-uncle) was a career UN diplomat for over thirty years, and he came to discuss the purpose of the UN in the world as well as its general structure. He also talked about his time at several UN outposts in Santiago, Bangkok, and, most recently, New York and Siem Reap, Cambodia. He also spoke on how, if one so desired, we could enter into the field of diplomacy.

The next speaker on Wednesday was Joseph DeLorenzo, the Secretary-General of the St. Peter’s University Model UN; this will be the first official event the club participates in. He discussed a brief overview of the process of registering and participating in a Model UN conference and answered questions on country selection to delegate switches. Overall, both speakers were received quite well by club members, who will certainly be putting this newfound insight to good use in competition.