Bailey Graham knows she wants to be a lawyer. What she didn’t know was how much being part of the Model United Nations would help her with that goal.
“I ended up really liking it,” the Marion freshman said.
She also ended up being really good at it. Bailey was named winner of the Outstanding Delegate award at a recent Model UN event held at St. John Fisher University in Rochester.
At the event, Model UN students take on the role of an ambassador to make speeches, resolve conflicts, negotiate and prepare draft resolutions as part of committees. This means they research specific historical roles and for Bailey, her role was Truong Chinh, former Communist political leader in Vietnam in the 1950s.
By being named Outstanding Delegate, Bailey showed that she was prepared for debate in her role as Truong Chinh. That means she spent hours researching her role and became well-versed enough to make an impact through participation.
“I liked the idea of being a political strategist,” she said. “It was a way to show off my research skills and I also liked the inclusion of it. Everyone can talk and speak. It was very inclusive.”
Having more fun at something than you thought you’d have is always a great thing and Bailey said her long-range school plans include plenty of Model UN activity.
“It enhances my social skills and skills for negotiating and debating and I think that’s important,” she said. “Also, my presentation skills and public speaking skills. I used to be terrified of that.”
Bailey was joined by fellow Marion students Xander Flint, Abie Conklin, Lily Edlind and Ana Kellerhouse as delegates for the St. John Fisher event. Seventh-graders Layla Marchbanks, Madison Hayden, Halii Fetterly and Kaelynn Lehr attended as pagers, passing notes and running errands for the committees. Mrs. Goodman is the club advisor.
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