With high hopes of working as a Foreign Service Officer in the United States Department of State, senior Benjamin Pla is already planting the seeds for a fruitful career. Fostering his interest in politics and international relations through his presidency in the Model United Nations club, Pla has set out to make the most of his time left at Coral Gables Senior High.

MUN is an educational simulation in which students are given the opportunity to attend conferences with select committees such as the Social, Cultural and Humanitarian committee and the crisis committees. Within these panels, students are required to work with others to discuss and solve pressing issues, such as human rights violations, in order to brainstorm possible solutions and policies with the intention of voting toward the best ones and applying them.

“Benjamin Pla is very talented and one of the most profound people I know. He has taught me so much about intercultural competence and inspires me to be not only a better delegate but also a better global citizen,” senior Brielle Robinson said.

Pla’s involvement in the club and leadership position came as no surprise as he joined the rigorous group as quickly as he could during his freshman year after learning about the opportunity through his older brother. His duties as president consist of signing the team up for conferences, organizing meetings and brainstorming activities to participate in as a group.

Usually, there are four conferences a year hosted by Florida International University, the University of Florida, Miami Dade College and the University of Miami. The most recent conference Pla attended was GatorMUN, hosted by UF from Jan. 21 through 23. This trip marked Pla’s third seminar, an experience he describes as memorable because he has time to do what he loves while simultaneously hanging out with his friends away from home.

Taking on the role of a United Nations representative from Egypt, this year the senior was part of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 committee. While his time in MUN has prepared him for his future aspirations of being a government official, it also helped him solidify his first choice for where he wants to spend the next four years after high school.

“I would love to be a Gator; my family are Seminoles so the whole time I was in Gainesville I was kind of riling on UF for fun. After my sophomore year at GatorMUN, I fell in love with the school and I really loved the trip. For like a year or two I’ve been persistent on going to UF and GatorMUN really helped me come to that opinion,” senior Benjamin Pla said.

As his four years at Gables come to a close, Pla is certain that MUN has been the greatest factor driving him towards his future. The club has given him countless opportunities to explore and grow as a person with some of the most notable outcomes being his improvements in writing, public speaking and social skills. Reaping the success of his hard work, he will soon take his work ethic to the university level.