Welcome to Harvard Model Congress 2010!
We are delighted to welcome you to the nation’s leading government simulation program. We would like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves and Harvard Model Congress.
We are the Co-Presidents of Harvard Model Congress 2010, Glenn Alterman and Laura Dean. Glenn is a senior Economics concentrator in Winthrop House getting a secondary field in Government, and Laura is a senior in Kirkland House concentrating in Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality with a secondary field in Government. Between the two of us, we have been involved in HMC for more than a decade. Glenn has served HMC as a committee chair, the Executive Assistant to the Chief of Staff, and most recently as the Business Manager. Additionally, Glenn has been a committee chair for our San Francisco and Asia conferences. Following three years as a high school delegate, Laura has come to serve as a committee chair, the Chief of Staff, and most recently as the Director of Special Programs. Laura has also chaired committees for conferences in San Francisco and Europe. Together, we bring a unique combination of programmatic and operational experience to the organization and look forward to sharing our dedication to HMC with you.
We like to think of HMC as a multifaceted organization: part student group; part non-profit organization; and part educational conference. We strive for excellence in each of these three areas to provide the best experience possible for all our students, faculty, staff, and Executive Board members. Along with our staff of talented Harvard students, we are committed to providing high school students from around the world with an unparalleled hands-on civics education.
We consistently celebrate our staff as some of the most diligent and accomplished students at Harvard and count ourselves lucky that they choose to dedicate their talents to HMC. Harvard Model Congress is entirely run by Harvard students who manage everything from the committee rooms to the budget to hotel contracts. Harvard students have been working hard since 1986 to provide conference delegates with the highest quality civics education, and they have a great time doing just that!
Officially designated as a federal 501-(c)(3) non-profit in 2006, Harvard Model Congress has always operated as a mission-driven organization dedicated to educating students and providing a top-rate out-of-the-classroom educational experience. None of the staff or Executive Board members receive compensation for their service, and we continue to be motivated by our mission to serve the students. Additionally, we are proud to offer scholarships to students who wouldn’t otherwise be able to attend HMC.
This year, HMC celebrates its 25th anniversary of encouraging the next generation of political leaders. We have grown into an international conference that hosts nearly 1,500 students at the Boston conference, attracting a wide diversity of experiences and viewpoints. We pride ourselves on hosting a conference that brings together minds from around the world to contribute to a mutual learning experience that inspires students to engage in the myriad concerns of government that surround them. At the conference, students assume roles from all three branches of government and come together in productive forums to engage in lively debate with their peers, pass Congressional measures on pressing global issues, argue cases before District and Supreme Courts, publish daily media accounts of government events, and lobby Congress on behalf of special interest groups and the President. With the introduction this year of the G-20 and Economics Committee, we hope to continue to push students to consider the most pressing issues influencing American and global politics.
We see Harvard Model Congress as a unique educational experience for students. We hope that the conference enables them to develop skills in leadership, public presentation, and civic engagement. These skills will translate into expanding their studies in school and hopefully into a civic-minded future in which they can apply the lessons of HMC to engagement in local or even national politics.
Please use this website to learn more about Harvard Model Congress and as a resource for conference preparation. If you have any questions about the registration process or the conference itself, please do not hesitate to contact us using our site's contact form. We look forward to working with you over the coming months and can’t wait to meet you at Harvard Model Congress 2010!
Sincerely,
Glenn Alterman and Laura Dean
