model citizens Model UN gave students an opportunity to connect with other cultures while improving public speaking skills. Model United Nations (UN) provided students with practice in public speaking and real-world experience. Model UN and Model Arab League had been organizations at Harding in previous years. When Dr. Liann Gallagher, assistant professor of history and political science, began working at Harding in 2016, however, all similar programs had disbanded. Gallagher started Model UN at Harding in 2017, a year after she started teaching at the University. Model UN was typically an extracurricular activity at most schools. However, Harding students were given the opportunity to take Model UN as a class for one hour, up to three times, or as a zero hour class, with only a class fee. Junior political science majors Ilse Ghent and Michaela Wilkie became involved with Model UN when they both took a class in spring 2019 with Gallagher, who spread the word about Model UN. When she told the class she made food from each country they learned about, she saidthey were hooked. "I had always wanted to do Model UN, but my high school did not have it either," Ghent said. "And I never knew before I had a class with her that we even had a Model UN club, or class, or anything. So, I was really excited about it." In fall 2019, students prepared for a Novemberconference. The class met once a week, and they talked about each selectedcountry, learned parliamentary procedures and wrote speeches, all of which culminated at the conference. Nearly 150 students representing 30 schools from Arkansas and Oklahoma attended the conference held Nov. 22-23 at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. "You choose a country," Gallagher said. "Different countries have different people assigned to them. You could have one person assigned to a country, or you could have up to five or seven people assigned to a country. It .has to do with what committees that country sits on and how many people are needed for each committee." The eight Harding students in attendance represented South Africa, Argentina and People's Republic of China. On the day of the event, the students tried to either pass or block resolutions their assigned country would realistically support or oppose. The delegates simulated real-life UN committees. "You are having to work together with other people that you do not really know, and it gives you a different world perspective as well," Wilkie said. "You are having to learn about other countries other than the United States. Learning about other countries and their perspectives on things is verybeneficial to anybody." "Students can take away tons of different skills from this, but I think my favorite thing to watch is their confidence level," Gallagher said. "Not just how they speak, but how they conduct themselves." The team came home with five awards and were excited to expand their team in future years. _story by Everett Kirkman organizations 277
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