As just a sophomore, majoring in Mass Communications here at TU, Samantha Figueroa has immersed herself fully in the Towson community, which made her the perfect candidate for this week’s campus celebrity. Not only is she the SGA’s Director of Civic Engagement, an Orientation Leader, and the Community Service Co-Chair of the Phi Mu Fraternity, but Samantha is the new President of the Model United Nations.
Her Campus Towson: You’ve really gotten involved within your first two years at Towson! What do you do with the Student Government Association?
Samantha Figueroa: I work closely with the Office of Leadership & Civic Engagement and the Office of Sustainability. I also worked closely with two fellow directors to develop the “What’s Your Stand” video celebrating Diversity month.
HC: You were also an Orientation Leader for the Office of New Student Programs this year. Tell me about that.
SF: Being an Orientation Leader has been one of my favorite involvements on campus thus far. I valued the opportunity to show new students around campus and give them some of the advice I wish I had been given when I first got to college. I fell in love with Towson all over again by being able to spread my passion for our university to others.
Samantha and some of her Phi Mu sisters.
HC: What exactly is Model UN? What do members do?
SF: Model United Nations is essentially a simulation of the United Nations. It allows students to act as UN delegates, representing certain states that are affiliated with the organization. Model UN allows students to attend conferences and interact with students from various universities and colleges. At these conferences, students are expected to negotiate with other delegates on world issues and concerns for international organization. It teaches participants various skills such as public speaking, negotiating capability, and global awareness.
HC: When Did Towson’s Model UN form?
SF: It is a fairly new group on Towson’s campus that I was motivated to start during my freshman year, last year.
HC: What made you want to start Model UN?
SF: I was a member of the club in high school and sought to continue my membership throughout college. When I discovered that Towson did not have a Model UN club, my first instinct was to find out how to bring the club to our campus.
HC: What are your goals for Model UN for the future?
SF: We hope to fundraise this semester and attend one of the MUN (Model United Nations) conferences during the spring semester in either New York or Washington, D.C. We are also working on strengthening our relationship with the established Model United Nations group at Johns Hopkins.
HC: How can students become involved?
SF: Students who want to become involved can visit our page on Involved.towson.edu and also join us for our weekly meetings on Wednesday evenings at 6pm in Liberal Arts room 4204.
Images courtesy of Samantha Figueroa.