My name is Makayla Bangoura, and I am a fourth-year student from Acworth, GA majoring in International Affairs. The past three years I have been a student at UGA, I have had the pleasure of being a member of the UGA Model United Nations Team. As a member of the team, I have had the opportunity to learn so much about public speaking, building networks with my peers, and special topics in International Affairs. The Model UN team has also given me some of my closest friends, and some of my favorite memories from my time at the 爱啪网.
The Model UN team is made up of two teams, a conference team and competition team. The conference team staffs our high school conference, UGAMUNC, and our collegiate conference, ArchMUN. Our competition team travels to conferences around the country, in addition to staffing the conferences we host. During my time on the competition team, I have had the opportunity to travel to conferences at Florida State University, University of Florida, William & Mary, Emory University, and the University of Virginia. I have also had the opportunity to travel to Washington D.C in the fall of 2024 for a conference hosted by Georgetown University, and for spring break this year I will be travelling to Montreal, QC, Canada to participate in a conference hosted by Concordia University. Our team has grown to become an incredibly competitive team on the collegiate Model UN circuit, and for the 2024-2025 school year the UGA Model UN team was ranked 10th out of the top 25 teams in North America.
Participating in collegiate Model UN conferences has been an amazing way to build connections and friendships with students from other schools. During conference weekends, you are expected to work together and write a resolution to find a solution to a certain global issue. This environment is not only conducive to building your own networking and collaboration skills, but it also fosters new connections with people who may share similar academic and career interests. Additionally, since I鈥檝e experienced competing in different conference committees on various topics, I have also had the opportunity to learn about a plethora of new topics such as intellectual property, ecoterrorism, and international justice regarding the illicit trade of drugs.
These conferences have provided amazing bonding moments with the team and words cannot describe how much I have enjoyed traveling with my teammates over the past few years. From getting ready for committee in our hotel room to hanging out and debriefing our committee experiences, the Model UN team has given me so many fond memories to think back on when I want to remember my college experience. I鈥檝e been able to learn so much about global issues and international relations topics from my teammates and from other delegates at other schools. I would recommend that anyone who is looking to experience what our amazing program has to offer, that they try out for the team next fall.
Written by: Makayla Bangoura
