by Mia Bilezikian ’15
[This is part six in a series of 10 pieces of student writing about the Inly Middle School’s experience at Montessori Model United Nations in New York City.]
Q: What was it like collaborating with students you didn’t know before?
A: I don’t think it was easier or harder to work with people I didn’t know before the conference compared to working with people I did know before the conference. It was really awesome to hear a bunch of other people’s opinions on top of what my partner and I had already come up with. It was interesting to see how some people felt really strongly about one idea compared to another. By the third committee session I felt like I had a good grasp on the personalities of the people in my group. I knew who was going to say whatever they wanted to and who might need a little more motivation to share their idea. There was one girl in our group who was pretty quiet, so whenever I had a chance, I would ask her what she thought. She started to talk more toward the end of our time together, as we were getting ready for our presentation. I’m glad she opened up like that.
Q: What were some of your favorite non-conference parts of the experience?
A: Taking the photos and going to see Matilda were probably my favorite non-conference parts of the trip. As much as I loved the Guggenheim, it cannot even compare to the MoMA. I wish we had some more time to take photographs. It felt like whenever I saw something I really wanted to take a picture of, it was always on the other side of the street, or we were rushing. I liked having the assignments* about what to take photos of because it made me pay attention to smaller details that I usually would not really think about. I also think that going to Matilda was a pretty good break from everything else. Other than that, there wasn’t really another moment (besides meals) that we weren’t walking around the city or working hard at the conference.
*Each day, we had a photography assignment that challenged us to take pictures about different themes. One day, we all took photos of reflections and shadows. Another day, we all took photos of shapes and patterns and textures. Another day, we all took photos of cool typography. On the last day, we took juxtaposition-themed photos.
For more in this series, check out these links:
“Montessori Model United Nations: In Their Own Words” by Paran Quigley and Jen McGonagle, Inly Middle School Teachers and MMUN Advisors
“Montessori Model United Nations: Work Worth Doing” by Benjamin Bison ’16
“One Delegate, Two Model UN Experiences” by Jonah Lee ’15
“Developing a Global Perspective” by Alec Perez ’15
“Follow the Leader” by Emma Kahn ’15
“Are You My Mentor?” by Alexander deMurias ’15
MMUN Reflection Excerpts by Mia Bilezikian ’15
“When I Grow Up…” by Gaby Munn ’16
“Global Group Dynamics” by Marty Morris ’15
“How It All Stacks Up: MMUN Compared to Other Field Studies” by Justin Cokinos ’16
“New York, Model UN, and Middle Schoolers — What Could Go Wrong?
(Spoiler Alert: Nothing)” by Kathryn Goebel ’15