Nine students and two faculty members traveled abroad over Thanksgiving Break to participate in Yale Model Government Europe and immerse themselves in the lifestyle and culture in Budapest.

About 300 students representing 35 schools around the world attended the conference, representing various cabinets within the United Nations. The four-day conference simulated a world crisis, and each group worked to address the global issue.

Senior Victoria Smith represented Albania in NATO at the conference, and the group’s topics were the crisis in Syria and bioterrorism. “It was really interesting to see how people from different areas around the world felt about the topics,” she reflected. “I have never been in a room with so many people from so many countries. It was truly amazing.”   

The Loomis Chaffee delegation arrived in advance of the conference to acclimate to their surroundings, taking an informal language course, engaging in a cooking class, going on a market tour, visiting the Szechenyi thermal baths, and taking a self-guided walking tour of Budapest.

“It was really great to bring our students to a city that might not have otherwise been on their radar and to have that immersive experience,” long-time history teacher and chaperone Rachel Engelke said. “We were taking public transportation, interacting with the locals, and exchanging currency. There was no passive interaction the entire time we were on the trip.”

Thomas Pipoli, a history teacher and chaperone, added that the opportunity for students to experience the Hungarian culture and history before the conference helped them to adopt a European mindset for the conference.

The trip offered an ideal combination of international experience and education, according to. Marley Matlack, associate director of the Center for Global Studies. “At Loomis, we really want to provide the tools necessary for students to take their learning above and beyond the classroom,” she said. “We had the opportunity to be part of an international education program, which is directly related to the curriculum, so it seemed like the perfect pairing.”