The steady involvement of the University and its student organizations in international competitions continues to draw student participants. For the Model United Nations Society (MUNSoc), La Salle Debate Society (LSDS), and the Hult Prize delegation, much focus is given by senior organization members to ensure that their delegates and representatives are fully prepared and equipped for their respective conferences and competitions.
Preparation and training
Czeskah Muñoz (V, CAM-MKT), Director for Model United Nations Network, helps train and organize the representatives for DLSU’s MUNSoc delegation, which recently participated in the National Model United Nations (NMUN) held in Washington D.C. last year. She credits the delegation’s triumphs to the training that their representatives underwent, stating, “Awards have been the fruit of the training, hard work, and persistence of the delegates sent.” For the NMUN delegates, training sessions occur weeks before the conference, which emphasize on skills in research, writing, speaking, and negotiating.
Joshua Cruzada (III, BS-AEC), who was part of the delegation sent to Washington D.C. last year, recalls personal difficulty during his delegate training. “Speechmaking and lobbying proved daunting for me. Acting as if you’re an actual British ambassador proved to be a challenge,” he shares.
For LSDS, the two delegates chosen to compete in the United Kingdom went through intense training to prepare themselves for two competitions: the Cambridge Intervarsity and the Oxford Intervarsity. Ethan Limkakeng (I, BS-FIN), shares his personal experience during the training period, lamenting that “balancing academics, logistical planning, and training [have] always been a struggle.” Limkakeng also reveals that practices for the competition would keep them up until as late as two in the morning, even if they would need to get up early for class the following day.
Despite these challenges, the debater and his partner, Hans Wong (I, BS-MS CHE), trained tirelessly and were adequately prepared for the tournament. “It was really a struggle to figure out how to balance everything but we managed by making compromises and of course asking for help from our classmates and the [Debate] Society,” Limkakeng assures.
For the upcoming regional finals of the Hult Prize, the three teams that made the initial screening and cut—Isdabest, Airdisc Technology, and Aces—prepare themselves for the next round, with the hope of advancing to the final stage and winning the coveted $1-million prize that would serve as their start-up capital.
Wincel Ong (I, MBA), leader of Aces, expresses his joy in representing the University, admitting that he “rarely [joins] competitions,” but since the Hult Prize is something “prestigious,” their group took the chance in joining. “There will always be pressure, of course, but we just like to give our best,” Ong states.
Norby Salonga, Lasallian Social Enterprise and Economic Development (LSEED) Coordinator and adviser of the organizing committee of the campus Hult Prize competition, says that the teams will undergo eight content sessions on how to develop their ideas further, which last year’s representatives also underwent. “Same preparations will be done this year; we’re going to invite both internal and external individuals and organizations to help shape the ideas further,” Salonga states.
Logistical dynamics
According to Muñoz, the trainers handle much of the logistical concerns, including delegation registry for the conference, as well as country assignment selection. “MUNSoc recognizes that even back then when MUN was merely an activity of interest, logistical concerns are for [the] safety [of the delegates],” she relays.
Other concerns such as airfare and lodging are handled by the delegates themselves under the trainers’ supervision. On the other hand, administrative processes with the University are handled by the organization’s faculty adviser, Allen Surla, a senior faculty member of the Political Science Department.
For LSDS, Mikaela Zulueta (AB-ISE, ‘18), one of the organizers who helped train and send the delegates abroad, shares that she helped prepare visas, registration flights, and accommodations for the participants.
Financing the delegation
Expenses incurred by MUNSoc’s delegations are mostly covered by the delegates themselves, sometimes with the help of alumni. “When I got into the delegation, that was when I realized the extent of the work ahead. The costs were subsidized by ourselves,” Cruzada narrates.
Among the fees that the delegates have to shoulder are delegation fees, lodging expenses, and airfare costs. Muñoz acknowledges that the organization has been active in lobbying for financial support, “MUNSoc has been diligently working toward earning other forms of support from the University, especially with [regard] to fiscal concerns,” she says.
On the other hand, the LSDS delegates sent to the United Kingdom were financed by various alumni of the organization. Marina Lim (IV, AB-DSM) notes that some of her peers have always wanted to send a contingent to the competition and pitched money in to finance it.
Meanwhile, Salonga continues to lobby for financial support for Hult Prize competitors. “We will do our best to recommend them to the school for them to get proper funding so they can join the regionals once they get confirmation from Hult that—especially for the second and third place—they are part of the regional finals,” he adds.
Past performance
Muñoz emphasizes the success of MUNSoc’s training program for the delegates, “DLSU has thankfully been recognized with awards on performance and/or Position Papers in all NMUN delegations since 2014.”
She notes the recognition they have received from the University and its affiliates, and hopes that it will reflect well on MUNSoc. “We have received features on the DLSU official accounts, and one feature on a STRATCOM (Office for Strategic Communications) Animo Board. MUNSoc has been diligently working toward earning its accreditation as an official student organization in the University,” she adds.
Limkakeng admits feeling, at first, like “underdogs” in the face of the diverse talent in an international competition. “We were first years entering an international competition from a third world country,” he relays. He soon realized that this was not an important factor in the competition, as he eventually learned that “where you’re from doesn’t define your ability to think and speak; that even people from a third world country can speak just as well as those from western states.” Limkakeng and partner Wong won as Novice Champions in Cambridge University and Novice Grandfinalists in Oxford University last November.
When asked about the ability of the delegation to win in the regional level, Salonga shares that the panel and himself are happy with the roster to be sent. “During the preliminary and on campus competitions, [the panel] agreed that the top three that we were able to harvest this year to represent the University in the Regional Finals are the teams who took the risk of exploring other ideas to address youth unemployment,” the LSEED coordinator explains. Ong, meanwhile, is keen on being alert throughout the competition, as he expresses, “It really takes hard work to proceed in the next round so we just like to enjoy the process.”
