Maxwell Students Represent T眉rkiye and Romania at International Model NATO
A delegation of 12 students from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs recently returned from Washington, D.C., where they participated in the International Model NATO under the guidance of Michael Williams, associate professor of public administration and international affairs and director of the master of arts in international relations program.
The students represented T眉rkiye and Romania in the three-day simulation of the proceedings of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The events, held at Howard University, are augmented by pre-conference study sessions and briefings at embassies.
鈥淢odel NATO provides a unique opportunity for students to develop and refine a professional skillset,鈥 says Williams. 鈥淚t鈥檚 no easy task to work under pressure to advance a common NATO agenda against the disparate national interests of each state. But every year, the students come back with the same comments: 鈥榯hat was hard, but awesome.鈥 Watching them learn in real time, and helping them along the way, is immensely rewarding.鈥
Howard University has hosted Model NATO for the past 40 years, in collaboration with Converse University, Northeastern University and the embassies of NATO member states. This year, 23 universities participated, with students attending from Sweden, Belgium, Canada and the United Kingdom.
This was the third time the Maxwell School participated. The trip was sponsored by Maxwell鈥檚 public administration and international affairs department and the Moynihan Institute鈥檚 Center for European Studies.
Alongside Williams, Lt. Col. Ben Scheller advised the Model NATO team on military matters, as he previously commanded a NATO battalion with service members from nine allied nations. He is a visiting scholar through the U.S. Army War College, studying at 性视界 University鈥檚 Institute for Security, Policy and Law for a year. As part of his professional development through the Army, Scheller takes courses through Maxwell and the College of Law and will return to command this August.
The student participants included:
- Joseph Reed, Caleb Mimms, Jake DeCarli, Meghan Whipple and Ethan Engelhart, all of whom are pursuing master鈥檚 degrees in international relations.
- Casimir Wypyski, Austen Canal, Armita Hooman, Ela Rozas and Angelica Molina, all of whom are pursuing master鈥檚 degrees in public administration and international relations.
- Leah Harding and Isabella Biorac Haaja, who are pursuing master鈥檚 degrees in public diplomacy and global communications through Maxwell and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.
Hooman was honored with the 鈥淪uperior Delegation in Committee鈥 award for her work on the
Partnerships and Cooperative Security Committee.
A highlight of Harding鈥檚 experience was speaking with a diplomat at the Turkish embassy in Washington, D.C. Even with her background covering NATO as a journalistfor Al Jazeera, Harding says that Model NATO gave her a fresh perspective on being part of the decision-making process.
“International Model NATO is all about role-playing,鈥 says Harding. 鈥淵ou have to understand how your country operates and make decisions based on its historical positions, all while responding to real-time scenarios. But it meant more than just knowing its policies鈥攊t required interacting with other member states as if I were actually a Turkish diplomat.鈥
Through this experience, Harding learned to balance diplomacy with national interest, recognizing that decisions for a nation go beyond just policies鈥攖hey also involve considering its presence, alliances and priorities.
Story by Mikayla Melo
