HomeSan Marino Student Colin Ho Elected MUN Secretary General

San Marino Student Colin Ho Elected MUN Secretary General

San Marino resident Colin Ho rode a wave of victory to be elected the 17th Secretary General of Model United Nations, or MUN, a California YMCA program offered to middle school students across the state.

MUN delegates from YMCAs up and down the state spent last weekend at the 16th annual Summit—the second of two annual conferences.

There they discussed international issues, discovered other cultures, developed life-enhancing skills and made new friends.

Such was the case for Colin who, before receiving a flood of votes at the ballot box to defeat three other candidates, crowdsurfed his way into the hearts of his fellow delegates at the program’s dance.

Colin, who will be an eighth grade student next fall at Chandler School in Pasadena, remembered that recent experience with a big smile.

“I made a lot of friends campaigning. I had to go up to a lot of people and say why I’m a good candidate to be Secretary General. And I had to explain my platform and sometimes they’d ask me questions,” he said, noting that friendships and learning have been the most meaningful parts of his time in MUN.

With two years as a delegate under his belt, Colin ran on an anti-discrimination and anti-racism platform at Summit, which took place from May 4 to 7 at the Sheraton Hotel near Los Angeles International Airport.

“Once we solve for discrimination and solve for racism, we as a community work better together. We’re more united because we put all of our differences aside,” Colin told The Tribune.

He continued, “And when we work better together we’re able to solve other problems a lot easier.”

His motto “Give Ho a Go to Make MUN Grow,” Colin suspected, gave his campaign a boost, too.

South Pasadena-San Marino YMCA Teen Program Director Jordan Bell agreed that Colin’s personality played a role in his victory.

“Colin has an infectious smile and demeanor that is really endearing. His combination of professionalism and charm made him the perfect candidate—one that the other middle-schoolers really gravitated towards,” said Bell.

Describing his new top job, Colin said, “You write a lot of speeches, you organize a lot of the events that happen in the program, [and] you also work with the Security Council.”

He explained that this role and especially his participation in MUN have enabled him to ‘be the change’ he wants to see in the world—a major theme of the Model United Nation.

“’Be the change’ is that we have to speak up. We are the ones that have to change the generations. We are the ones that have to tell everyone to be open-minded,” he said.

Colin shared that the program has made him a more open-minded person, describing MUN as “a program where people get to learn about current events.”

“On the news you hear a lot of things about America, but you don’t really hear about the smaller countries. I think MUN really opens that up for children, so they can learn about current events in the small countries and the big countries,” he explained.

At MUN, delegates get to learn about many different perspectives, Colin noted, stating that last year he represented Senegal in the MUN General Assembly.

“Although I believe we should have women’s rights, my country’s position wasn’t for women’s rights. So it was interesting for me to debate a side I didn’t really believe in,” he remembered.

“It really opened my eyes to learn how to see other people’s perspectives even if it’s not your own,” Colin added.

With Colin’s election, South Pasadena-San Marino YMCA will be home to both the MUN Secretary General and the Youth Governor, South Pasadena resident Cole Cahill, of the Model Legislature and Court, or MLC, program—the YMCA’s high school civics program.

“It’s something that has never happened before in the history of these programs. I think it speaks to the caliber of delegates that we have in our programs, and to the forum that we provide them to thrive,” said Bell.

Colin is the captain of his speech and debate team at Chandler School, where he is also the Communications Commissioner on the student council. He is also a teacher’s assistant for the elementary school-level debate team. He is the son of San Marino residents Sonny Ho and Sandra Woo-Ho.

Anyone interested in the YMCA’s MUN or MLC programs can contact Jordan Bell at jordanbell@ymcala.org.

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