Priceless MUN Experience At Harvard University
Academic Aspect of Harvard MUN/ Social aspect of Harvard MUN
When people hear the names of one of the most prestigious universities in the world, they tend to get excited and feel curious. Those were my exact feeling when I first heard about the Harvard Model United Nations. At that time, I was a freshman in high school and the idea of going to Harvard MUN seemed so far away. Still, I liked to think that I would eventually have the chance to be a delegate there. Time passed and Harvard MUN elections were held at our school and finally I was chosen to be a delegate. I was elated, yet feeling the pressure of performance among excellent peers. Our club finalized structuring the committees and I chose the Economical and Finance committee as the delegate of Ecuador.
Participating in such a high profile event would require lots of hard work and dedication so I started to prepare months in advance. I was not going to fail my team. I put in my best research effort to study all aspects of Ecuador to prepare. In the preparation process, we did countless mock debates and committee simulations with our MUN club. We even increased the density and frequency of our practices through the event and in the end, we were satisfied that we had done our best work.
When it was time for the departure from Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen airport to New York JFK, we were insanely excited and could not contain our excitement. Our collective energy showed in our singing all the way to the airport! Then after approximately 12 hours of flying, we reached the United States. We had a really great time visiting NYC but we soon had to move on to Boston where Harvard is located.
700 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02116; 617–536–5400
We had a relatively long train ride to Boston, the city of Universities, from NYC. Our accommodation was surely preplanned and we stayed in Sheraton Boston, the same place the conference was held. The reason why They chose Sheraton as accommodation was that 4.000 delegates were participating this year and Harvard simply was not capable of hosting such amounts.
Our first day at the conference was amazing, we watched the opening ceremony and listened to the inspiring speeches of the organization. You really appreciate them after realizing their tremendous effort to make such an organization real. After the opening ceremony, we were free to explore the area and luckily I made some new Croatian Friends. It was fun to spend time in such a multicultural environment. At the end of the day, we had a nice and long sleep after our travel and settling in the rooms.
Our first day was the day when everything got way more serious and we started our committee sessions. There were nearly 250 delegates in my committee and we continued with our opening speeches. It was very impressive seeing delegates all around the world come up with feasible solutions and defending their countries’ rights vigorously (including also me). The environment in our committee was highly competitive and also enjoyable. Proposing your ideas freely and listening to other delegates’ solutions altogether was an indescribable experience. Having seen an atmosphere like that motivated me, even more, to put much more effort into our resolution papers that we present and vote at the end of the conference. Our next two days were similar, full of politics and passion.
The last day of the conference was unforgettable. We had ‘Delegate Dance’ where all delegates were together dancing and enjoying themselves and making new friends. After the delegate dance, cultural extravaganza, and many other fun activities it was time for the closing ceremony. OUr unforgettable Harvard MUN experience was coming to an end and I definitely did not want it to finish. The closing ceremony was fascinating, a room full of 4.000 delegates and teachers. It was very crowded, to tell the truth, but we didn’t care. We just enjoyed the last hours of our fantastic experience. Of Course, as every good thing has an end and Harvard MUN 2020 was over. After the MUN he had plenty of time to explore Boston and I must say I really liked Boston. I hope to go back there to study :) After packing our bags we were ready to depart from our hotel and went directly to the airport. The conference was over but I was bringing priceless experiences and unforgettable friendships with me back to Turkey. The most important thing for me was not participating in a prestigious event but rather having made lots of new friends and turning back to my country with an even broader vision of the world. Thank you for your time and I wish you all have such great experiences that you become a greater person. Please feel free to address any questions to me and my team!
