Preface: Kailyn Hornbeck is the outgoing president of the International Relations Club (IRC) at the College of William & Mary, the sponsor organization of campus Model United Nations that coordinates WMHSMUN, WMIDMUN and &MUN, William & Mary’s conferences for high school students, middle school students and college students, respectively.
Wallace: How would you describe Model United Nations to someone who is unfamiliar with it?
Hornbeck: Political LARPing!
In all seriousness, Model UN represents the intersection of debate and academia. While there are many different types of Model UN (crisis committees, specialized agencies, general assemblies, etc.), all committees have a similar structure. Each delegate prepares for debate by researching their assigned positions and developing ideas to solve specific issues chosen by the committee director. In committee, delegates build blocs, write-up solutions and attempt to persuade other delegates to vote for their proposals.
Wallace: What made you first interested in Model United Nations?
Hornbeck: I started Model UN in college after joining the International Relations Club. I didn’t really know what I was doing, and Model UN sounded like a fun way to meet people in the club, so I just went for it. My MUNtor (my IRC mentor) convinced me to go to Georgetown’s MUN conference in the fall, and I’ve been traveling ever since!
Wallace: What brought you to William & Mary?
Hornbeck: W&M was the only school that I applied to! I hadn’t really heard about it before I visited, but I fell in love during that first campus tour. I loved the traditions and the bricks and the friendliness of the students, and it felt like home.
Wallace: What events brought you to the International Relations Club Presidency?
Hornbeck: I can’t exactly trace a series of events, but IRC has always been my top commitment outside of academics. It provided me with the opportunities and experiences that have shaped who I am today, and I met some of my very best friends here. After three years of learning and growing with IRC, I looked for ways to give back to the club.
After considering my strengths and talking to the previous president, I decided to run and was fortunate to be elected with a fantastic board!
Wallace: What have been the biggest changes you’ve seen in the club since you arrived at William & Mary?
Hornbeck: While the club always changes based on the composition—people graduate, new members join, etc.—I’d say the biggest change has been a shift from a MUN-driven club to a more conference-driven club. We’re the first university in the nation to host MUN conferences for middle schoolers, high schoolers and college students, and that requires a dedicated staff.
As such, we’ve sought to increase benefits and opportunities for our members. For example, last year we began a scholarship fund for IRC members who are interning or studying abroad in the summer. Since then, we’ve increased the fund to support more members who pursuing awesome opportunities.
Wallace: What were your responsibilities as the president?
Hornbeck: Constitutionally, presidential duties include serving as the liaison between IRC, the administration and the campus community, cultivating a welcoming and inclusive club environment, leading IRC board meetings and empowering other board members to fulfill their roles.
In a more everyday sense, my responsibilities include being a readily available resource for IRC members, attending as many events as I can and sending a lot of emails!
Wallace: What advice would you give to you successor, and to future members of the IR Club?
Hornbeck: Try everything! IRC offers many opportunities, from planning conferences to competing overseas to raising money for charity, and you should try it all! Your experience with IRC will be what you make of it, so take advantage.
For my successor in particular, active engagement with the various moving parts of IRC is critical. As a president, your connection to the club will stem from involvement with all the events and activities that make IRC such a wonderful organization.
Wallace: What would you consider the successes of the club during your time here?
Hornbeck: “Success” can be defined in many different ways with IRC. We can look at our conferences numbers (more delegates than ever before), our total funds raised for charity (which grows year after year), our dues-paying members (the highest in a few years) or we can talk to the members themselves and see how IRC has positively impacted their college experiences!
With the growth of our conferences comes a growth in opportunities for IRC members. Now, there are more ways than ever to get involved with directorships and secretariat positions. Our MUN program has also become more inclusive and offers conferences that appeals to a wide range of skills and interests—we traveled to nine in the past year, alone!
Wallace: What do you think the future of the club will look like?
Hornbeck: Well, that depends entirely on the people who become involved. For example, an influx of strong MUN delegates may increase the competitiveness of our travel team. I do hope to see IRC strengthen its relationships with other W&M organizations to bring speakers and events to the campus community. I believe our alumni network will grow stronger with the hard work of the IRContinues team and that, in turn, will benefit our members on campus.
Above all, I see the club continuing to foster a tight-knit family at W&M united by a love of IR and a drive to accomplish great things.
