Model United Nations (MUN), a class available at LBHS since 1982, teaches students about relevant information along with current and historical events, as well as observing the work and history of the United Nations. The course teaches leadership skills, gets students more comfortable doing public speaking, and informs students on current events and relevant information. It helps to prepare students for college and for being in the workplace. It’s also mostly student-run with a variety of leadership opportunities for anyone interested in taking on more responsibility. The after-school class also works with the Maasai Foundation which supports a school in Kenya, so students learn the importance of raising money and helping those who need it.
I interviewed Mr. Todd, an advisor for MUN who is responsible for the advanced students. We talked about his position in the MUN community, what it is, and how the class has impacted him and the students he teaches. His time as a student is informed by his teaching experience; he provided this insight regarding his time as a student, “The class was so hard for me when I was a freshman. I was extremely nervous to speak in public at that time. I was definitely out of my comfort zone. By my senior year, speaking in public was nothing to me.” His public speaking and organizational skills improved massively, due to the course, resulting in him becoming a better, more productive scholar overall. He claims he was not a great student and referred to himself as an example of a classic lower-level person in the class; however, despite that, he grew a lot from a personal standpoint, as well as an educational one, and he insists that “you get what you get out of it. It doesn’t matter what level you’re at.”
Mr. Todd has been teaching for over twenty years, and his passion for enriching his students is a significant part of the behind-the-scenes of the course. He stated that his favorite part of MUN is seeing what students accomplish after class. Counselman Rounaghi, who was a Secretary General at LBHS, went to Dartmouth and is now a council member at the age of 25. At the same time, another former student owns one of the biggest affordable housing companies in the nation, and an older pupil works for the New York Times. It was apparent how much pride he takes in his students, and job, in addition to the community that is the Laguna Beach High School’s Model United Nations.