Last year, the founders of Carnegie Vanguard’s World Affairs Council chapter crammed a library’s worth of knowledge into one week. With scarcely a week to prepare for their first Academic WorldQuest competition, the first four members of the CVHS World Affairs Club worked tirelessly. Their unwavering dedication proved itself worth it when the team ended up winning at the event, advancing to nationals.
“I found out about [the Academic WorldQuest competition] literally a week before the local competition in Houston… I gathered up a team and we just grinded. We did all nighters and we ended up winning it, so that was pretty cool,” said CVHS’s World Affairs Club President Siddharth Dasari recalling the events.
This marked the genesis of what has now evolved into one of Carnegie’s most recognizable clubs — the Student World Affairs Council. Having thoroughly enjoyed their experience at their first Academic WorldQuest competition, the four founders — Siddharth Dasari, Brandon Strung, Coulson Batchelor, and Shanti Majumdern — were inspired to sow the seeds for a World Affairs chapter at Carnegie.
“I was like, ‘Wow, we had such a good experience and we want other Carnegie students to have such an experience in the future,’” said Dasari.
Now, one year later, the World Affairs Club has presented countless accessible opportunities for members of Carnegie’s student body to learn more about and immerse themselves in the world of politics.
“Our mission here is to just teach people more about foreign affairs and allow them to have a platform in order to continue their interest in politics,” explained Klaridy Miller, director of model UN for Carnegie’s World Affairs Club.
World Affairs has done this by attending and participating in various events, with the most recent being a luncheon with President George W. Bush. These conferences and conventions are hosted by the World Affairs Council, and members of the organization are allowed to attend for free to meet and gain insight from influential figures involved in both domestic and international politics. A few examples of speakers at these events have been U.S. representative Nancy Pelosi and former acting president of Venezuela, Juan Guaido. These events have offered invaluable learning experiences for members of World Affairs, presenting profound lessons about global awareness.
“[Speaker events] taught me that this knowledge is important. I don’t want to be ignorant. It’s just a reminder that, in the U.S., we have this democracy and we have all these institutions, because we’re outward thinking and we should never try to become closed off,” explained Dasari.
The Student World Affairs Council has taught the young minds at Carnegie the value of approaching the world around them with an open mind. This provides a lesson that participating students will carry with them later in life.
“I will definitely carry with me all the speaker events we have. I saw Nancy Pelosi and George W. Bush talk, and that was a really cool experience because, even though I don’t necessarily agree with everything they’re saying, it was really interesting seeing an outside perspective. And I think being open-minded about those perspectives is really important,” said Miller.
Looking to the future, members of the CVHS chapter of the Student World Affairs Council hope to make the club the best it can be in terms of the accessible opportunities it provides. These aspirations encompass upcoming events such as the Houston Area Model UN conference in Jan., the local Academic WorldQuest competition in Feb., and a Model UN conference scheduled for March.
