Cardigan Delegates Attend Boston Model UN

By Cameron McCusker ’10, Sixth Grade Teacher 

During the weekend of February 7-9, twelve Cardigan students adjourned to Boston, Massachusetts to participate in BosMUN, a Model United Nations conference that is both organized and led by Boston University students. The conference—in its nineteenth year—aims to put students in an environment that simulates conversations and proceedings that might take place in the United Nations.

The three-day conference placed Cardigan’s “delegates” among many others in their age group who represented a long list of other schools. Through interactions with these other delegates, Cardigan’s representatives were able to experience cooperative and productive negotiations, while honing their skills in policy work and humanitarian activism.

The Cardigan students who participated in BosMUN XIX included:

Xuanzhe “Victor” Wang ’22
Zihan “Harrison” Huang ’21
Gordon Gruber ’21
Gabe Brondel ’20
Dylan Biggs ’20
Chenqi “Lucas” Ding ’20
Hanzhe “Jason” Jiang ’20
Hyun Joon “Justin” Lee ’20
Jack Marshard ’20
Kolapat “Pi” Mongkhonvanit ’20
Jaeseok “Andy” Yoon ’20
Bochen “Victor” Zhu ’20

These students participated in focus groups and committees tasked with tackling important issues ranging from “Press Freedom,” to “Boosting Agricultural Performance in Rural Economies,” and much more. The entire weekend conference served as an exercise in thoughtful debate, careful deliberation, critical thinking, and collaborative effort. 

“I learned a lot about debating, about different social problems, and most importantly how to interact with others,” says Lucas Ding.

This year marks Cardigan’s fourth year with a Model UN program, and its second attending the BosMUN conference. Dean of Students Danielle Fedele and history teacher Donna Fedele serve as Cardigan’s faculty representatives, as both are highly involved with the Cardigan Model UN throughout the year—Ms. Danielle began the program at Cardigan close to four years ago.

“The best part of the Model UN conference for me was being able to meet and interact with people from all sorts of countries and backgrounds.”Dylan Biggs ’20

Ms. Donna says the benefits of the conference for the Cardigan boys extended well beyond the academic and intellectual stimulation to which they were exposed. For the Cardigan boys, the social aspect and group dynamics of the conference made it all the more memorable and beneficial. “We loved that after the last committee session, they started to get very nostalgic about their experience,” Ms. Donna offered. “They just wanted to know when DartMUN (our next conference) is and what positions they can have as delegates.”

In many cases, Cardigan students are exposed to issues in the world about which they might otherwise not have known. The added benefit of learning of these matters through their committees at BosMUN is that they are essentially being educated by other bright, young, and driven students—just like them. 

“The best part of the Model UN conference for me,” says Dylan Biggs ’20, “was being able to meet and interact with people from all sorts of countries and backgrounds.” The experience was one that Biggs described as “eye-opening,” and one that he would enjoy having another chance to attend if given the opportunity. The dynamic is one that promotes a passion in Cardigan’s students for higher learning, public speaking, and expanding their horizons.

The weekend adventure, though educational in nature, felt almost nothing like work to the students who were lucky enough to attend. Having learned what it feels like to address global issues among a like-minded group of their peers, Cardigan’s boys returned to campus with a reinvigorated thirst for knowledge and experience. The growth mindset embodied by Cardigan students is never more evident than in those scholars who set out to Boston to simulate an exercise to improve the world around them—in turn improving themselves as citizens of both their community and their world.