Unexpected Lessons from Model UN

They knew they would be debating and public speaking, learning and be challenged.

But what the 16 Brooks students who headed to Boston on Friday were happy to discover, during Boston University’s Model UN Conference, is that transforming into diplomats for three days is a blast, too.

More than 1,500 high school students from around the world participated in the 23rd annual event!

“Brooks students were representatives on committees ranging from the United Nations Human Rights Council and the United Nations Conference on the Status of Women, to crisis and specialized councils including the Congress of Vienna and the International Cricket Council,” said longtime Brooks’ Model UN advisor, Chair of the History Department Michele Musto.

Take a peek at the action: Giada Musto '26 and Christina Liu ’24 share a look inside the exciting international affairs simulation — held from February 2 to February 4 at the Boston Marriott Copley Place.

Liu took over the Brooks Instagram during the conference.

She answered questions and gave a glimpse of her activities — including a joyful moment for Jasmine Shi ’24, who earned the award of Outstanding Delegate for the Taiping Rebellion Joint Crisis Committee: Taiping Heavenly Kingdom representing Hong Tianguifu.  

Giada Musto wrote a first-person mini-blog upon the group’s return to Brooks.

“Entering this year's conference, I was incredibly nervous because it was my first year representing a person in a specialized committee and not a country,” said Giada Musto (above on right).

Thankfully, she added, “After the first session all of my fears dissolved. The chairs running the committee had such passion for the topics that it hyped up the energy of the entire room.”

Even when the committee broke up to create different resolutions, “No one ever felt completely like an enemy, more like a frenemy,” she wrote. “Although everyone wanted their position to win, the most important thing to everyone was making sure that we solved the problems in front of us.”

Looking back at the weekend, Giada Musto reflected, “Model UN provides students with what [Head of School John] Packard would describe as ‘the most meaningful educational experience of their life’ in an unexpected way.”

“It's not about learning random facts about countries,” she explained. “It's about making connections with other students and solving problems to benefit the people while having fun while doing it.”