Bryana K. Tucci's #MeetADiplomat video for the US Embassy Cairo.
Bryana K. Tucci '06 was a "lifer" at CAC, spending all of her school years in a culturally diverse, challenging environment that prepared her well for her current career as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer. We asked Bryana to reflect on one particular CAC memory - her experience as a student in Model United Nations (MUN) and recipient of the Dan Andrews Memorial MUN Scholarship. Here is what she had to share:
"Nearly ten years after graduating from CAC, MUN still ranks as one of my top five high school endeavors. Under the dedicated leadership of Dan Andrews and Lamia Mazhar, my involvement in MUN unleashed remarkable opportunities to interact with students from around the world in both social and professional settings; to practice my prepared oratory and impromptu speaking skills; and to lead my talented and ambitious peers in our prestigious CACMUN Conferences and in other MUN conferences outside of Egypt.
Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, where I earned my master's degree, teaches that successful leadership and policy-making require personal relationships amongst professional counterparts. Looking back, I realize that MUN is an ideal setting to practice this craft. During MUN trips to The Hague (THIMUN) and Beijing (BEIMUN), I spent the evenings in social settings befriending individuals with whom I had diligently debated major policy issues earlier that same workday (and again the next).
As a high school senior, I was the third and last recipient of the Dan Andrews MUN Scholarship to have had the privilege of participating in MUN under Mr. Andrews' leadership; thus, the scholarship in his name was especially poignant and personal to me. After my CAC graduation, I carried the lessons that Mr. Andrews taught me, and the honor the scholarship bestowed, to the United States Naval Academy. During my tenure there, I led a delegation of Midshipmen to the collegiate National Model United Nations in New York City, and was chosen to represent the Academy in several other multi-faceted leadership roles and at international public speaking events, including at the 2007 Annapolis Peace Conference for the Middle East.
Fast-forward to my present-day position as a Foreign Service Officer: I have recently completed my first overseas tour as a diplomat in the U.S. State Department, which was, rather serendipitously, at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo. I am currently preparing to embark on my second tour as a counter-narcotics officer in Bogota, Colombia."
The Dan Andrews Memorial MUN Scholarship honors the memory of a dearly loved teacher who died in 2004. Among other interests, Dan was dedicated to the spirit and accomplishments of the CAC Model United Nations (MUN). This scholarship is awarded to a graduating senior who is involved in MUN.
The Dan Andrews Memorial MUN Scholarship Fund has supported a total of seven students. If you would like to bestow this honor on more outstanding students, please consider contributing to this fund online.
