July 28, 2010
St. John’s students grabbed the spotlight recently when they
became the first university students ever to present papers at the
annual Academic Council on the UN
System (ACUNS) Conference.
Held at the University of Vienna from June 3 to 5, the 23rd annual
conference explored “New Security Challenges.” The meeting
hosted more than 500 worldwide experts in the field, including
heads of state, U.N., non-governmental office (NGO) representatives
and members of the academic community.
Photo Gallery
Five
students in St. John’s
Master’s Degree Program in International Communication took
part in a panel moderated by Basilio Monteiro, Ph.D., Assistant
Professor and Chair, Division of Mass Communication, Journalism, TV
and Film. “I invited them to come and assume a leadership role,” he
said. “It really exposed them to the world stage.” The students won
praise from the dignitaries at the meeting, including Therese
Gastaut, Director of the Women’s International Peace Movement in
Geneva, who said “I hope St. John’s will serve as a model inspiring
other university and college students to attend our meetings and,
even more importantly, make presentations.”
For Sadie Miller, a second-year student in the International
Communication Program, this was her first time abroad. She was awed
by the conference’s location at one of Europe’s oldest
universities. Sadie’s paper, which explored the power of education
in eradicating world terrorism, added yet another voice to the
conference’s global dialogue. “The whole experience was stimulating
academically, culturally and intellectually,” she said.
“Knowing we were going to speak before diplomats and other
high-level officials was nerve-wracking,” said Tiffany Vazquez, a
second-year student in International Communication. Nevertheless,
the audience paid close attention to her presentation on the impact
one person or group can make by using Internet technology. “I was
thrilled that they welcomed learning about the student perspective
on global security,” she said. “I just felt like I was on top of
the world.”
Brian Chambers, who is in his first year in the International
Communication Program, also attended the conference. “Being able to
network with people from around the world and listen to, and in
some cases meet, speakers like the President of Slovenia and the
former President of Ireland, “exceeded all my expectations,” he
said. “This experience reinforced my view that being a graduate
student in international communication is opening all kinds of
doors for me. If it weren’t for St. John’s and Professor Monteiro,
I would never have had this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a
participant and a witness to this exciting discussion of pressing
issues by global security experts and practioners.” His fellow
student attendees enthusiastically echoed this sentiment.