For interim, the Gazette staff decided to collect stories of students who went on different interims. I participated in the New York interim, so I wrote answers to a couple questions that someone might ask if they are interested in doing this interim next year.

What interim did you do?

My interim was the New York Leadership Lab interim. For this interim, we traveled to New York and got to participate in a 5-day-long class, which we earned college credit for, where we got to learn about the UN. 

Why did you choose this interim?

I chose this one because not only did we get to go to New York, so it was a travel opportunity, but we got to do a leadership lab with the UN. I chose this one because I’m a debater, as well as in the applied forensics class, where we do both mock trial and Model UN. I thought this would be a great opportunity to experience something besides doing tournaments.

Describe a favorite memory or highlight of your interim.

My favorite part of the interim was being able to watch the Security Council in live action, like real countries coming together and agreeing on solutions.

Describe a connection you made with another student or faculty member that you otherwise wouldn’t have made.

I got to talk to a lot of people and connected with a new friend who's a freshman, and we got to room together and probably wouldn’t have talked to each other at all this year if not for interim.

Explain something you learned on your interim.

I learned the inner workings of how the UN works and how there're so many parts I've never heard of before, but they play an important role in making sure the UN keeps working.

Describe a challenge or the hardest part of your interim.

One of the hardest parts of the interim was learning to navigate a new city and learning the norms of the new city. We took the subway; at first we had to remember to bring our metro cards and which train to take, but eventually we got the hang of it.

 

What kind of student would enjoy this interim?

Someone who is interested in international relations and learning the inner workings of an organization that holds our world together.

What was the travel like?

We took a red-eye there, and then we landed back home late at night too, so the plane part was rough, but otherwise it was good.

 

I really enjoyed this interim, I hope there are other opportunities like this. It’s fun, even for non-debaters, to see how the UN operates, and the trip was overall a great travel opportunity.