My name is Azaria, and I am currently in my second year at the University of Westminster, where I am studying Politics and International Relations. I moved from Ireland to London about two years ago for university, and it has been the most amazing experience of my life, where I have been able to meet new people, travel to new places and experience life in the political field. I am increasingly passionate about human rights and international relations, so moving to somewhere that is as culturally diverse as London and a hub for political activity felt like a leap in the right direction. I wish to use my skills that I have developed in my time at Westminster to further my career in foreign affairs, and I have my sights set on working for an NGO, the EU and/ or the UN.
Moving away from Ireland has made me yearn for home, and I have grown a wish to serve my country on the international stage. It took leaving my home and broadening my horizons to fully understand this, and I am grateful that I am working towards a career. I feel that working within my community at home and understanding people’s struggles on a personal level will help me represent Ireland on the world stage. I am excited to apply what I learn from this trip to my future career and to other events I will attend.
I am so excited to travel to Tashkent to participate in the Model United Nations conference and get to know an entirely new culture. I have never travelled that far before, nor am I familiar with the culture from that part of the world, so this will be a trip of new experiences, people and places that I know I will look back on fondly. I am eager to learn more about the history of the Silk Road that the city holds and how that has gone on to affect the modern evolution of Tashkent and Uzbekistan as a whole. I have partaken in smaller MUN events, but nothing as big or international as this event, so I am looking forward to meeting other like-minded students and making new connections. DEN has allowed me to make so many friends and meet new people, gain new experiences, and I am thrilled to be able to share all of this with the students we will meet and other young people in Uzbekistan.
I am particularly excited about the horseback riding as I love animals, and it’s definitely something I will be checking off my bucket list!
Azaria Thompson