VOLUNTEERING

When I was in high school, competing in the YMCA Model United Nations debate program in Hershey, PA was the most formative growth opportunity I had the privilege of experiencing. Since 2018, I’ve been fortunate enough to volunteer alongside other program alumni as a leadership staff member, mentoring high schoolers as they navigate the myriad challenges associated with organizing, executing, and competing in a debate competition with peers from all over the tri-state area.

I have the distinct honor of serving as a national trip director for the program’s most impressive participants. Each summer, I chaperone our 25 best & brightest students to the Conference on National Affairs in Blue Ridge, NC.

Our students spend an entire week meeting, befriending, and debating high schoolers from a wide variety of upbringings, backgrounds, and ways of life that are completely different from their own. American politics are as vitriolic as ever -- I believe it’s never been more important for young people to learn how to empathize & engage with belief systems that challenge their own, and I find immense joy in facilitating that opportunity for them every year.