MAL Alumni Newsletter | Issue 1, December 2003

Text Box: NC: How have you seen the Model benefit others? JC: People who had little to no knowledge of the Middle East end up learning a vast amount while dispelling some of the misconceptions they had about the area and its people. Those new to Arab issues are among those who benefit most. NC: In what way has the Model Arab League influenced your career goals? Before my experience with the MAL, my career goals lacked direction. However, through the MAL I found a subject that very much interests me; having enrolled in AUC’s graduate program focusing on the international relations of the Middle East, I hope to obtain a job in that field.

Text Box: other ways as well. The belief that all Arabs have the same opinions about an issue is a myth. My experience with the Models demonstrated the exact opposite. NC: How did your participation in the Model Arab League influence your decision to attend the American University in Cairo (AUC)? JC: Last year AUC won an outstanding delegation award for its representation of the small and little known Arab country of Djibouti. That was impressive and said much about AUC. Since I was already interested in the Middle East, AUC seemed a good choice. It combined a quality education with hands-on experience.

Text Box: WASHINGTON, NOVEMBER 2003 — James Cargo is a first year graduate student in international relations at the American University of Cairo. While an undergrad at Miami University (OH), James participated in four Models: twice at the Ohio Regional and twice at the National Model. He was a part of the honorable mention Miami University delegation representing Saudi Arabia in 2002 and their Outstanding Delegation performance in 2003 representing Iraq. NC: Why did you first begin to participate in the MAL? JC: As a member of the Miami University Forensics team, I have always been interested in debate. I was not interested in the Middle East per se, but a friend was a part of the team. He knew I was a debater and figured I would enjoy the model. Since then, I became actively involved with both the Model and the Middle Eastern Studies program at Miami University. NC: How has the Model Arab League expanded your knowledge of the Arab world ? JC: For my work in the Ministers of the Interior, I had to research foreign labor and other issues about which I had previously known very little. What I learned was how diverse the Arab World is culturally, politically, geographically, and in many

Text Box: Checked the MAL website recently?

Use it to find the handbook, publicity posters, pictures of past MALs, and much more:
www.ncusar.org/ modelarableague

Text Box: December 2003 Compiled by Shawn Romer

James Cargo (far right, back row), together with his Miami University colleagues upon receiving the outstanding delegation award for Iraq at the National University Model in April 2003.