Erin Carroll can’t wait to see the world. In the meantime she’s found a way to bring the world to her.
Carroll, a senior-to-be at Mid-Pacific Institute, had heard about the Model United Nations program from friends at Le Jardin Academy. Intrigued by the program’s focus on educating participants in international relations, diplomacy and the functions of the United Nations, Carroll recruited a few friends and with diplomatic precision persuaded administrators at Mid-Pac to adopt the program.
"I’ve always been interested in politics," Carroll says. "The Model U.N. allows us to talk about issues but in a less structured way than we might in a speech and debate program."
Under the direction of history teacher Suzanne Acord, and with training from a Model U.N. adviser from Georgetown, Carroll and her pals have learned to examine complex political situations from all sides and propose solutions that take into account real-life considerations like funding, administration and enforcement.
Carroll says her interest in international affairs was developed during long rides from her parents’ shrimp farms in Kaaawa and Hakipuu to her school’s Manoa campus.
"It takes an hour and a half to get to school, and we usually listen to National Public Radio," she says. "That’s my way of keeping up with what’s happening with the economy, human rights, war issues and other topics."
Carroll’s worldly interests are a stark but not surprising contrast to the mom-and-pop shrimp farm upbringing she and her brother enjoyed.
"I’ve lived on farms my whole life," she says. "There’s no cable. There are only a couple of kids in the valley. It’s pretty rural. But we grew up with all of Kualoa as our playground, and I learned to surf at the beach right here with my dad."
Carroll’s interests extend to the cultural and linguistic as well as the political. She has studied hula for 11 years with kumu Mary Kupau-Mikaele’s Kuhai Halau o Kahealani Pa Olapa Kahiko. She’s also studied Mandarin and Spanish and can read and write Hebrew. Most recently she’s taken to studying the Arabic alphabet.
Carroll’s language studies should prove useful as she prepares to study international relations in college. She hopes to one day play a role in the political reformation for the post-Arab Spring Middle East.
In the meantime, Carroll is enjoying a fabulous new discovery: travel scholarships.
She leaves this month on a paid trip to Beijing to study the language and culture. It will be her first time outside the United States.
"My goal," she says, excitedly, "is to travel as much as I can and see the world."
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Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@staradvertiser.com.
