Converse Model Programs Students Travel to Arab World
Two Converse students from Converse’s Model Programs had valuable international study-travel experiences over the December 2024 holiday break. History and Politics double major, Maddy Skoog ’25 (Nisbet Honors) from Fountain Inn was one of a ten-person delegation selected for the all-expenses-paid Gateway KSA study trip to Saudi Arabia from December 13-20, 2024.
The purpose of these trips is to provide potential future international influence makers with a better understanding of the Kingdom and Saudi perspectives. The schools focused on are the most prestigious ones in the United States and the world, as well as individuals in important early career positions. Maddy’s peers were from institutions such as Stanford, University of California-Berkeley, and the Carnegie Endowment Center for International Peace. The majority of the delegation were graduate students with some background on the region. The National Council of U.S.-Arab States is afforded one nominee annually.
Over the years, Converse’s Model Arab League delegation has dominated that slot for a total of seven former participants. Steven Greer ’22 was selected in 2022, and last year Anna Scott ’23, now a graduate student in public administration at the University of Georgia, was the recipient. Maddy has just been accepted at the University of Georgia School of International Policy.
Maddy has just been accepted at the University of Georgia School of International Policy.
Previously Maddy had never been outside the United States, and indeed the sixteen-hour flight was her first time on an airplane. She described her experience as the opportunity of a lifetime. Besides the tourist portion of the trip, meeting with Saudi officials on such topics as Saudi’s ambitious Vision 2030 to transform the Kingdom’s economy and social policies and Saudi perspectives on Ukraine and Gaza were enlightening.
Politics major Jerome Harris ’25 from Washington, DC, the first male head delegate of Converse’s world-recognized Model Programs, was one of eight students selected for a week-long conference on “AI in the International Arena” held in January in the United Arab Emirates.
Like Maddy, Jerome’s experience was mind-boggling. He described Dubai as an unreal world where everything was bigger, more extreme, and futuristic. He used the metaphor of a nationwide shopping mall. Quite different than more traditional Arab and Muslim cultures, Dubai is “totally about making money and global influence.”
The group also visited one of the other Emirates—Abu Dhabi—which is also mega-wealthy and futuristic but much more traditional than Dubai. For one example, unlike Abu Dhabi, Dubai ignores the Muslim tenet against the use of alcohol, which would interfere with its tourist and international business priorities.
Jerome described Dubai as an unreal world where everything was bigger, more extreme, and futuristic.
For the academic portion of the trip on the worldwide employment of AI, with Dubai as a central player, the robots, voice recognition software for medical and business applications, and surveillance were daunting. As one example, Jerome lost his phone during a tourist portion. But with surveillance of everything, the next day, his phone was returned to his group—cleaned and fully charged. Jerome remarked that the positives and concerns of AI were evident during the trip.
This was not the first major opportunity for Maddy and Jerome; last summer they were selected to be official representatives of International Model NATO at the 75th NATO Summit conference held in Washington, DC. These experiences are quite formative for Converse students’ preparation for significant careers. Maddy aspires to a career in international diplomacy. Jerome isn’t sure what he projects for a career, but in the immediate future after graduation, he would like to join Delaney Leslie ’22 who runs the nation-wide Model Arab League conferences sponsored by the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. In the meantime, he knows quite a bit more about AI for the future.