We asked Jareck to share a part of his story, how he ended up in Model UN and why he's taking a gap year. Jareck first heard about MUN at Collin College in the summer of 2016 while taking Professor Iwanek’s U.S. Government class, he said he knew deep down the type of academic challenge he was looking for. During his first semester on the team Jareck recalls what his first true challenge was. He stated “ I knew I was going to be challenged but I wasn’t expecting to have my ego checked.” While Jareck was well read and had great public speaking skills, we quickly saw is him relying too much on what we call the “Bill Clinton effect” (the p.c. term for b.s ). Jareck goes on to say “ I remember Professor Iwanek calling me out on my “Bill Clinton” approach and telling me that it’s a great skill to have, I just shouldn’t be leading with it. She also told me to checked my ego telling me there’s a difference between having confidence verses having an ego. In Spring of 2017, Jareck earned another spot on our MUN team, the spot as one fo the Head Delegates on our team and he was selected to represent our team on the Security Council ( this was the first time Collin was given the privilege!) Jareck went on to say “Prof. Iwanek, my team and especially the other Head Delegates knocked the cockiness out of me, teaching me the importance of teamwork and how to work with different personalities” While in Collin’s MUN program Jareck contributed to our Fall 2016 Honourable Mention Delegation for representing the Democratic Republic of the Congo and for our Spring of 2017 team, Jareck was instrumental in leading, supporting and motivating the larger team that represented Liechtenstein earning us a Distinguished Delegation award After graduating from Collin College Jareck went on to attend Stephen F Austin on a ROTC scholarship majoring in History and minoring in Military Science. Jareck was asked about the skills that Model UN taught him and he said “ MUN Improved my technical writing, verbal communication and definitely my leadership skills”. My time at Collin College and especially on the Model UN team inspired me to further my education and it definitely had a profound impact on me obtaining my bachelors.” While at SFA Jareck said that MUN prepared him for “…leadership roles in ROTC - lead my peers overseas and giving me the tools I needed to effectively plan more than 24 events and eventually commissioning as a 2LT (2nd Lieutenant) officer in the Army National Guard.” When we asked Jareck why he was talking a gap year he expressed that his reasoning was to continue furthering his military training, gain work experience and he is also in the process of attaining his teacher certification. Jareck went onto say “ there’s often this social stigma about taking a gap year, as if it’s something bad.” He continued to say that whatever his next step is, he needed the time to “get out there,” both make and save money and put in some “boots on the ground work.” Finally he said “I want to take the time to figure out if I want to continue to finishing my MPA, apply a top tier school for my MBA or pursue my passion for teaching. All of these choices are a huge investment and by taking a step back and getting some experience and perspective I know I’ll feel more confident in whatever my next step is.” Jareck, we couldn’t be more proud of who you are and who are you growing into. You remain an amazing role model and we are confident you’ll bring everything you have to whichever path you take. 😊 https://www.instagram.com/p/B8rLx0ogybu/?igshid=2d0djd6oejxg
















