Inspiring Learning Award 2021-22 Recipient
Cory Leonard
"Cory is just such an inspiring example. He is compassionate and kind, he goes to lengths to make things happen, he cares about all his students, he wants all of us to succeed, he takes the time to make things work. He recognizes the skills in each of us and encourages us to be better. I really wanted to be in his class but I had a major schedule conflict. He helped me figure it out, was flexible and understanding. He seriously saved my semester. He reaches out to check on students, he makes sure we are all succeeding and feeling good. He’s been a great influence by his example, and by the life he lives. He knows how to make things happen and how to connect people. The skills he has are skills I wanna develop in my own life. I am so grateful I get to learn from him."
I’m fortunate to work at the David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies, the interdisciplinary heart of global engagement at BYU. We help students expand their world through experiential learning opportunities in our nine academic degree programs, hundreds of international study programs (internships/study abroad), and outreach through Model UN, Model Arab League, Model European Union, and Model Organization for American States, scholarships, CultureGrams, documentary films, lectures, and partnerships.
For more than 60 years the Kennedy Center has supported Model UN, our flagship leadership and diplomacy simulation program. Students from every college have participated in the courses which prepare students with no previous experience to compete at the largest international conference held at the United Nations in New York each April, as well as other conferences at universities in the US (Penn, Chicago, Johns Hopkins) and internationally (Rome, Kobe, Xi’an).
- Learning by Teaching: Since 1989 we’ve hosted Model UN conferences on campus for approximately 600 high school delegates each fall where our students are quickly pushed to internalize and teach ideas and skills that they just learned themselves.
- Simulations: Students can learn a concept such as multilateralism or rhetorical devices. But when they’re navigating the Cuban Missile Crisis or working in groups to persuade individuals in a zero-sum negotiation—even when the sparks fly—you can see the light bulbs going on.
- Labs: We practice, practice, practice. After a lecture on policy research, students write a position paper. Following a trip the HBLL they research, document, and support their “innovative solutions” in a Research Defense.
- Strong leadership from the Kennedy Center to international and interdisciplinary experiential learning.
- Support from faculty. (Students miss classes for 2-5 days in a semester.)
- Financial support from colleges so that any qualified and committed student can participate despite financial need.
I wish every faculty member understand how much work and learning goes into the course and preparation. Not every Model UN or related program works like BYU's. Some are clubs or incidential activites. BYU students prepare in policy writing, research, and come back regularly with feedback such as “the most important part of my education was in MUN” or “i gained skills that help me in surprising ways”.
I wish students realized that Model UN isn’t just for future diplomats. Elsewhere programs are run by business schools and international relations programs, but much of the knowledge and skills obtained are related to comms, law, psychology, sociology, and humanities, and relate to every area where soft skills are needed.