Six students from West Virginia University will travel to the Netherlands this month to participate in The European International Model United Nations Conference (TEIMUN).

Under this year’s theme, “The challenge of change – exploring new security landscapes,” more than 200 of the brightest students from countries around the world will come together in The Hague from July 13-19 to engage in discussions about the world’s most pressing issues and to develop as young leaders and global citizens.

Students will discuss the changes that have an impact on lives globally and the rapidly changing landscapes that will determine the field of international relations for the coming era. Student delegates will be challenged to find answers for new borders and boundaries, changing security politics, and the continuous search for peace.

The group will subsequently travel to Geneva to participate in a four-day seminar on “Contemporary European Security” at The International Centre Lomonosov of Moscow State University. The center was established in 1997 as a Russian education, research and cultural center.

Corey Farris, WVU Division of Student Life associate vice president and dean of students, will accompany student travelers this year.

“The TEIMUN conference is a great starting point for our first-time travel abroad students. This short-term international experience offers students the opportunity to travel while being chaperoned by an administrator from WVU,” said Farris. “Our ultimate goal is to spark interest in WVU’s semester-long study abroad opportunities.”

The 2015 WVU delegation consists of Daniel Blair, sophomore political science and Spanish major and Honors College student from Frostburg, Md.; Olivia Dudley, junior Slavic and Eastern European Studies and international environment major minoring in teaching English as a second language, women’s and gender studies, and linguistics and also an Honors College student from Natural Bridge, Va.; Erin Heeter, sophomore international studies major minoring in Spanish and religious studies and Honors College student from Morgantown; Karen Laska, freshman international studies major and Honors College student from Triadelphia, West Virginia; Noah McDill, freshman political science and Chinese studies major and Honors College student from Hedgesville, West Virginia; and Jason Neal, senior political science and history major minoring in geography and women’s and gender studies from Milton, West Virginia.

For six years, the dean of students in the WVU Division of Student Life has partnered with the Barnette Professor in Political Science Dr. Joe D. Hagan, the international studies program in the Eberly College of Arts in Sciences, and the John D. Rockefeller IV School of Policy and Politics to sponsor and chaperone student delegates.

In the first two years of WVU’s participation in the conference, the students from the University made up the only group that represented the United States in the entire assembly of 250 students.

Delegates were selected through an application process consisting of a short essay and resume. Preference is given to enrolled freshman and sophomore students with a 3.5 GPA or higher completing at least one college course with an international affairs focus and a satisfactory student conduct record.

-WVU-

ta/7/9/15

CONTACT: Sabrina Cave, Student Life
304.293.2506; sabrina.cave@mail.wvu.edu

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