Patrick Arevalo recently served as a Student Officer at THIMUN Qatar. A student from Mesaieed International School here in Qatar, he reflects on the doors TQ has opened for him, and the confidence he has gained throughout the THIMUN journey.
From a clueless delegate intimidated by the intense atmosphere of a committee room to being the President of Mesaieed International School, Model United Nations has provided nothing but opportunities to climb the ranks.
It was Winter 2013 when I was preparing for my first ever conference, which was DCMUN. I was, to be honest, scared. I was scared of the unknown; I was scared to step out of my comfort zone. In an effort to combat this, I spent countless hours trying to perfect my operative clause on the security of diplomats and diplomatic missions, writing, re-writing, and re-thinking everything in that one clause until I was satisfied and I know it was impenetrable and no one can ever debate against a clause like that.
When the time came for our merged resolution to be debated, my clause was struck out by the delegate of Qatar by quite of an overwhelming majority.
I sat with my head down for the rest of the day. The head chair of my committee, Osama Ghani, gave me words of reassurance. Still, I tried participating to the very best of my ability and was nominated as a Best Delegate. This gave me hope to pursue greater things in MUN.
A series of doors started to open in front of me, all of which I took hesitantly at first due to the void of the unknown that surrounded them: a student executive officer position in the early development of MISMUN, a spot to participate in the Qatar Leadership Conference 2014, a position as an advocate in the ICJ of DCMUN 2014, finally, a position as a Student Officer in THIMUN Qatar 2015. It turns out that these doors to the unknown are what shaped me into becoming a well-rounded individual in and outside of school life, they changed my view of the world into something bigger than what I can ever imagine, they helped my rise through the ranks in the MUN community.
Just over a year later, I walked in the halls of Qatar National Convention Centre as Deputy President of HRC1, a Student Officer, with the life-changing experiences behind me: a Delegate, a QLC participant, a DCMUN advocate, a President of MISMUN.
My journey through the ranks will not stop; the unknown will always be an opportunity for me.
By: Patrick Raymond Arevalo