Master debater Aryan Srivastava of grade 11 spearheads MUN team

Aryan Srivastava, of grade 11, studied in Kolkata prior to attending the Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad. His innate love of learning led him to the Academy, where he has developed a passion for Model United Nations (MUN) and for public speaking in general. He currently serves as the vice-chair of MUN at the Academy. Aryan’s favorite subject is History, taught by Ms. Priyodarshini Das. “It’s not a traditional class – not write on the board, copy in your notebook,” he remarked. “We have opinionated discussions.” The DP1 student had received advice from his seniors about which classes he would enjoy the most. “Every single one of them told me that I would never forget the experiences in my history class. I can already see that they were right.” Last year (January 2017), Aryan organized the Model United Nations conference designed exclusively for juniors as part his MYP Personal Project. “I wanted to offer the same chances I’ve had to participate in MUN to the younger classes.” During the process, he learnt a lot of lessons on teamwork, interfacing between different groups, time management and multi-tasking. “Before stepping into the conference that I organized, I never thought that I would have what it takes to lead. Throughout my educational career I was told that a good leader was the opposite of what I was. Throughout the process of organizing the conference, I learned what went into being a good leader. It wasn’t just telling everybody what to do. It was compromise, respect and most of all, a burning passion for the art of debate. Being able to stand in front of 250 students and fulfilling the opportunity to give them what I had been given, was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life."

What’s next for our expert debater? “I really want to get into law and politics,” answers Aryan. “I think MUN has prepared me a lot for that. Plus, I’m passionate about world events.”

Srivastava attended IIMUN (India International MUN) – the world’s largest MUN conference – held at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, in August 2017. The experience helped solidify his big dreams. He hopes to attend Columbia Law School and explore more of what New York has to offer. We know you can do it, Aryan!