María Amelia Frías
My name is María Amelia Frías, and I am a first-year Dual Degree in Business Administration and International Relations student in Madrid. I chose this degree because I wanted to combine my love of politics and global affairs with my interest in management.
"As a double delegation, you need a large amount of trust and cooperation between you and your partner to work as efficiently as possible."
A learning experience and a sense of community
María’s passion for global affairs is evident not only in her choice of degree program, but also in the fact that she joined the IEU Debate Club on her first day of orientation. Her prior experience of the Model United Nations in high school had fuelled a desire to undertake similar activities at university. What impressed her about the IEU Debate Club, she says, was the learning experience and the sense of community among the members.
Through the IEU Debate Club, María has met many people and made some good friends. She feels it’s encouraged her to deliver her best and work towards becoming a well-rounded speaker and problem-solver. One of the biggest challenges she’s tackled as a member of the club has been the Model United Nations Debate of the Rey Juan Carlos University (URJCMUN). María describes this as “a learning curve” both in terms of the amount of preparation required and the degree of readiness expected of the participants. She and her co-delegate spent considerable time studying resolutions, learning foreign and domestic policy, and reading up on the other countries’ interests and positions.
An even bigger challenge, however, was the interpersonal skills required. María discovered that a double delegation involved a great deal of trust and cooperation between her and her partner in order to work as efficiently as possible. A lot of their conversations, both inside and outside the committee, involved strategy, analyzing their next course of action, and adapting to the changes they perceived within the committee. “What was most important, though, was building a good rapport between us,” María notes, adding that when one of them made a mistake or needed help, the other would take on the task of providing backup and constructive criticism. She credits this positive relationship with their eventual success—María’s delegation was awarded an honorable mention at URJCMUN.
Another hurdle, this time of a practical nature, proved to be the travel involved at the conference—a 28 km trip to the campus, lasting an hour and involving three different metro lines. “That’s almost half the distance from Madrid to Segovia,” María points out. However, on a more positive note, the long journey helped her to calm her nerves and adopt a productive mindset for the day ahead.
María found the support of IE University a great help, expressing gratitude that her professors understood the demands of the conference and were considerate of absences and missed work. Without this level of support and understanding, she feels, she would not have been able to put her best work forward.
When asked what advice she would give to others interested in participating in this event, María lists three important factors. Firstly, preparation is key: consolidating your research and familiarizing yourself with the rules of procedure are essential. “You cannot be overprepared,” she notes. Secondly, she emphasizes the importance of planning and scheduling. Going to a Model United Nations conference is a lot of work, and it’s important to factor in any other commitments, such as exams or assignments. Finally, María stresses the importance of rest. “Exhaustion is an enemy of performance,” she states, adding that there is no shame in taking naps on the journey home!
