Twenty-eight juniors from The Skinners’ School, an all-boys school in Kent, England, visited campus on Tuesday, January 24. They were Model United Nations (Model UN) members heading to the Harvard University Model United Conference held from January 26-29. Choate was a stop along the way, as well as sightseeing in New York City before attending the conference. Students who are a part of Choate’s Model UN team hosted the visitors and guided them through daily Choate life, giving them a feel for an American boarding school environment.
Each volunteer from the Choate Model UN team was paired with one or two Skinners students, who shadowed the volunteer. The Assistant Headmaster of The Skinners’ School, Mr. James Coltella, contacted Director of Global Programs Ms. Sara Boisvert to arrange this exchange program. “The planning for this event is fairly straightforward, and I just send out an e-mail asking who would like to host, making sure that Model UN students going to the Harvard conference could meet with Skinner students, since that is where they are going as well. It was different this year since the sophomore World History field trip fell on the same day. It was a little hard to find kids at Choate who were going to the Harvard conference, since sophomores who were going could not be paired up with Skinners students,” Ms. Boisvert said.
Despite the extra amount of coordination required this year, both Choate and Skinners students seemed to enjoy the shadowing program. Rings of laughter pierced through the dining hall, and talk of the difference between a British accent and an American accent seemed to captivate almost every lunch table. “Choate is a lot nicer than Skinners, it’s a lot bigger, just in terms of space, and it was a very impressive and pleasant stay. It was nice to meet new people,” said Harry Regan, a Skinners student who was assigned to represent Russia at the Harvard conference. He continued, “I look forward to competing with these Choate students at Harvard. I’m very sure the Model UN program here is top-notch.” James Gardner, another visiting Skinners student, said, “The food here is pretty nice, and I like the ambience of the dining hall.”
This is the fourth year for this annual Model UN exchange. When the students visit, Choate hosts a large social gathering for the two teams. The exchange allowed the Harvard conference attendees to meet and connect with students they would be competing against beforehand; it was a merger between the two Model UN programs.
The exchange also provided a learning opportunity for members of both teams. While the British structure of Model UN is very different from the American structure, The Skinners’ School tried to adopt the American structure used at Choate since they attend conferences in the U.S., distinguishing it from many other schools in the U.K.
“Our Model UN program can be a little intense sometimes. I am going to be talking about the terrorism issue. I quite like public speaking, and I think adopting a role of something that you’re not, the diplomacy, is pretty fun,” said Ben Brannan, a Skinners visitor.
Arin Kaye ’17, President of Choate Model UN, described Model UN as “competitive socializing,” describing working with strangers at conferences. She continued, “Inevitably, this trip is kind of like a refresher for what is going to happen at the conference. Both students have to socialize and get to know each other, strangers that just met. It is helping them improve their social and speaking skills.”
