My Global Scholar Experience

For this paper, we had to focus on the impact of global governance on a particular issue.  I chose to write about global health governance in sub-Saharan Africa relating to the the increase in diagnoses and deaths from non-communicable diseases.  Closely related to my work for my Honors Thesis, I discuss how the lack of attention and resource allocation for non-communicable disease by global health governance is hindering the ability of states in sub-Saharan Africa to combat this upcoming crisis.  As a global scholar class, I was able to present a different perspective (from sub-Saharan Africa's point of view) on how global health governance should conduct itself while addressing non-communicable disease.

I realize that this class is not recognized as a Global Scholar course, but I believe it met all the criteria for the option and would be a fantastic addition to available course work.  Our final project for this class was to represent an EU country and address the refugee crisis in Europe.  While we conducted a simulation of the European Council, we also had to submit a paper beforehand that outlined our county's position on the issue and how we would like it addressed.  Along with my partner Kyra Price, I represented the Italian Republic and demanded immediate action from the EU.  Having never thoroughly studied Europe before, this was an amazing opportunity to look at regional issue through another county's perspective.

You're probably thinking, "An exam? That's no fun to read..." BUT YOU'RE WRONG.  The final "exam" for this global scholar class was writing a memo to the newly instated President of Zimbabwe (we didn't actually send them, but that would've been cool)!  Taking the information we learned in class and in (super long) readings, it was our job to advise the new President on how to effectively run the country in the absence of the long-time leader, Robert Mugabe.  Acting as a close adviser to the new President, I had to use case studies from other African countries to exemplify an effective government style.  But of course, there really only is African solutions to African problems.

This document is not for a class, but instead for the UWO MUN team as part of my "global experience"!  For the conference that we attend in NYC, we are required to submit a position paper ahead of time to outline our country's stance on the issues we are assigned.  With my partner Natalie Britt, I wrote about Gabon's view on three separate, but related topics: The Role of Youth in Implementing the Paris Agreement, Capacity Building for Combating Climate Change in Developing Countries, and Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change.  Within this paper, we needed to outline the topic as Gabon sees it, propose various ways of addressing the issue (with maximum benefits for our own country), and remain within the mandate of the United Nations (UN) committee we were in (Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - basically the world's largest forum to discuss issues related to climate change).

Another display of writing from my MUN experience!  The various committees of the UN write resolutions on specific issues, and this is an example of a resolution sponsored by Chile on the freedom from torture.  I wrote this over the Summer in 2018 for an activity we had planned during the Fall semester.  Resolutions are a whole new way of writing in that every word and phrase has to be precisely in line with the position of the sponsor and the vocabulary of the UN.  It also has to clearly display the types of actions that the sponsor would want on that given topic, so a global perspective is definitely needed.  During my time on the MUN team, I wrote hundreds of resolutions for activities, teaching others, and practicing my own skills for competitions.

These highlighted works from my time as a Global Scholar are all things that I am very proud to call mine.  Each one is a different style of writing, for different areas of study.  Each one taught me how to digest information, conceptualize topics, and write coherently and persuasively, not just from my "white girl from the US Midwest" viewpoint, but from various viewpoints across the globe.

That being said, I believe that following the Global Scholar Option is not just about the work you produce, but the insurmountable knowledge you attain of international culture, economics, politics, and perspectives.  I've always been one to devise solutions rather than focus on the problems, and being a Global Scholar has allowed me to do just that.  Not only do I feel like I understand the subject matter, but I also feel confident in my ability to approach topics and global issues through a holistic approach. Growing up in a small town in Wisconsin, I was never exposed to much diversity.  Now I know that diversity a global knowledge is essential to tackling whatever issue is at hand.  It's what empowered me to travel independently to Greece, and is hopefully what will propel me forward into a lifetime of learning about and contributing to the globalizing world around me.