Prepping A New Generation of Diplomats

Zach Battleman ’21 credits Masters' Model UN (MUN) with helping him become “more outspoken, more outgoing, and most importantly more confident in my abilities and myself.”

And so, with the news that the Middle School was forming a MUN team, he jumped at the chance to pay it forward as an upper school coach. “I've thought for the longest time that I wish I had an opportunity to develop these skills when I was in middle school,” the senior shared. “With my time at Masters coming to an end, I'm happy to be able to give that opportunity to the next generation.”

MUN faculty advisor and middle school languages teacher Brittany Farrar is thrilled to get the fledgling group up and running. She explained that “We started this team to give middle school students an edge when they join the upper school team, as they will already be aware of and exposed to different types of committees, and will know which delegate roles suit them best and which topics they enjoy working on.”

After only a few virtual meetings, newcomer Sophie Moussapour ’25 is grateful to Farrar and the upper school students who have “been extremely supportive, and helpful in introducing us to the MUN terms, etiquette and culture.” She shared that “They have facilitated an incredibly supportive, and fun environment for us to learn and make mistakes.”

Teammate AJ Bagaria ’25 echoes that enthusiasm: "As a person who loves debate and an aspiring leader, Model UN has always been a dream to be a part of, even before it was made available to the middle school.”

Priming these middle school delegates, who Farrar says “feel passionately about world issues, robust debate and collaborative problem solving,” to compete at regional conferences and the like has been “going great so far!”  

SHARE Article