A Homage to the 2016-2017 Executive Committee 

The incoming committee thanks and expresses its sincere appreciation towards our outgoing predecessors. This is a panegryic to all the achievements of those who have guided the LSE SU UN Society throughout the bygone academic year.

“When the best leader’s work is done the people say,
‘We did it ourselves.” 

- Lao-Tzu

President: Christine Deng

To lead 480 Members, 24 Officers and 10 Directors for an entire year is no simple task by any means. But to do so with grace, passion and sagacity is truly remarkable. Throughout the 2016-2017 academic year, Christine directed the Society to new heights through dedication, inclusion, vision and leadership. She severed not only as a President, but also as a role model.

As President, she organized an incredibly successful Fresher Fair, Annual General Social and Annual General Meeting. During her entire tenure, Christine provided unconditional support, direction and warmth to all divisions, attending countless officer interviews, divisions meetings and events.

And even so, reducing her role to “President” would be candidly unjust; for throughout the entire Lent Term, she took on additional Treasurer responsibilities, writing our STARS application, creating budget forms, and reimbursing members for events. Moreover, she played a primary role in creating and designing our new website.

Withal, Christine partook in no less than 6 Model United Nations conferences, exemplifying her talent and acumen by winning awards at every single conference she attended, including a “Diplomacy Award” at Harvard WorldMUN and a “Best Delegate” Award at Cambridge International MUN.

In her dénouement as president, Christine wrote and produced our inaugural Annual Report, and instituted constitutional amendments to increase the administrative power and efficiency of the Executive Committee.  In the same spirit, she undertook all efforts to welcome the new committee with open arms and ease it into its roles, compiling an extensive handover document filled with advice, expertise and words of encouragement.

We are extremely thankful for Christine dedicating all her blood, boil, sweat and tears into leading the LSE SU United Nations Society forward. On a personal scale, she has been a true friend to so many of us. Her legacy is as large as our appreciation and gratitude for her efforts.

By Stefan Bogensberger

Vice President: Jenna Yeh

Jenna Yeh served as Vice-President of the United Nations Society for 2016-2017. Jenna has always been a friendly and cheerful presence; whether it was at Fresher’s Fair or AGS, she could always be found with a smile and a patience to talk to members about the UN Society.

A hard worker, she could be relied upon to get work done, whether that was designing shirts, helping to shape the society’s social media presence, and managing all outreach efforts.

She was instrumental in coordinating the activities of the divisions, and contributing to the administrative work done by the administrative team. We are thankful for all that Jenna has contributed to the UN Society, and wish her all the best in her future endeavours!

By Yi Jun Mock

Secretary: Gabriel Francis Chua

The running of one of the largest societies on campus would be nowhere at all without its lifeline and saviour in internal reporting and communications – Gabriel, our brilliant Secretary.

From the very beginning of the year, Gabriel was truly there for his fellow Committee members. Through one-on-one meetings with Directors to discuss updates in published documents or other plans, as well as through group deliberations on the Committee’s chat stream, he constantly kept up a steady and informed atmosphere.

The weekly email newsletter delivered to every single UN Society member throughout the year testifies loud and clear the admirable resolve and dedication with which Gabriel managed his Committee portfolio and compiled all communication from across the divisions.

Gabriel’s tireless efforts and his always so enthusiastic outlook on things have been a true inspiration to his fellow Committee members and to the wider membership of the Society. This image of him was only strengthened at the end of the year by observing his extraordinary performance at Harvard WorldMUN, where I truly got to know him through the utmost privilege or serving as his co-delegate.

Whether or not it involves dramatic diplomacy with foreign delegations over the legal definitions of tax evasion, or acing it when faced with the task of summarising an incomprehensible mix of sporadic Society events, we wish Gabriel the very best in all his future endeavours!

By Viktor M. Salenius

Treasurer: Michael Ongkauko

Hailing from the Philippines, Michael is a third-year Accounting and Finance student who has been an integral part of the UN Society from the very beginning. Quirky and with a great sense of humour, he has been the treasurer of the society for eighteen months.

We know Michael for his passion for Scotch whisky, the TV series A Bit of Fry and Lawrie, and board games; the latter hobby has been cemented by his presidency of the Board Games Society, in which capacity he was often found poring over board games in one of LSE’s buildings or baking his own brownies for one of the society’s many charity events.

As treasurer, Michael was decisive and tirelessly dedicated in managing the UN Society’s finances and driving it to great heights. He put in place measures that ensured unprecedented transparency of the society’s budget allocation.

But Michael was also an integral part of UN society in other ways, often attending and chairing MUN training sessions. Michael was always there to help and to ensure society events and projects run smoothly and efficiently.

We, and I as his successor, are forever thankful to him for all his contributions to the society over the years, and we wish him great luck for all his future endeavours.

By Naufal Yudiana

Outreach Director: Sumati Semavoine

Sumati has been an outstanding and wonderful Outreach Director for the LSE SU UN Society for the past academic year. She has always been deeply committed to the charitable causes that the UN society promotes and her guidance to her Outreach officers is a reflection of her calm and assertive leadership.

Under Sumati’s guiding influence, the Outreach division of the UN society can boast of many events that range from panels and discussions with various NGOs on issues such as children’s education and women in conflict, to an International Food Fair in celebration of International Mother Language Day.

Furthermore, Sumati spearheaded the UN Society’s contribution to Refugee Week in collaboration with Student Action for Refugees (STARS) Society. The Refugee Week was a great success and was awarded the ‘Best Society Event of the Year” STAR award by the Student Union.

Her leadership and passion as Outreach Director will be greatly missed and sets a new standard of excellence for future members of the UN society!

By Hazel Ah Teck

Model United Nations Directors:

Ralph Chow and Kristina Lau

Jan-Paul and I would like to express our immense gratitude toward Ralph Chow and Kristina Lau, colloquially known by their ship name, ChowLau, for having done a brilliant job as MUN Directors. Throughout the entire year, they worked as an impeccable team that led #teamLSE to exceptional heights.

Under their watch, #teamLSE’s reputation has grown nationally and internationally, having achieved some of exceptional results in multiple conferences. We won no less than 45 awards including "Best Small Delegation" at CuiMUN and LiMUN, "Best Delegation" at ManMUN and EireMUN and 5 WorldMUN diplomacy awards. Our presence has also grown too, as sending delegations to 9 conferences, accompanied by 25 chairing positions. These achievements could not have happened without both of their utmost dedications toward the team, their passion towards MUN, their love for each and every one of the team members, and of course skipping out on almost all the socials.

In addition to their inspirational professionalism and drive, one will be able to see a softer side of them once you get to know them better. Deep down, Ralph revels in ultimate sass and constant gossips. He may act serious and shake his head in dissaproval of your banter, but in reality, he is an absolutely fun person to be around with his amusing sense of humor. (He can be really cute too when smiling!) Besides, one can always trust Ralph for food recommendations and whether a photo is on point for Instagram.

Meanwhile Kristina, a true master in the art of being passive-aggressive, is an absolute sweetheart underneath. She is like the eldest sister in her family (even though she is actually the youngest in a huge family), always looking out for the best of each and every one of us. However, there are also times where she can go wild and crazy, always looking out for us to ensure that we down our drinks and have a great time.

There can be no doubt that Ralph and Kristina have done an excellent job, and both Jan-Paul and I will have huge shoes to fill. However, the most important thing is, we are most grateful to be able to call the both of you our friends. We look forward to be able to call you at 2am panicking about how to register for a conference next year!

By Melvin Kan

Careers Director: Leticia Jin

Being a part of the Careers Division over the past year has been an invaluable experience.

Not just because I have thoroughly enjoyed organising a great variety of interesting career events, but especially, because we had a great, dynamic team that was consolidated by Leticia Jin.

She created a pleasant working environment, in which everybody felt comfortable sharing their ideas and opinions, and managed to keep us all focused on our goals at the same time.

Essentially, this lead to the successful organisation of several events, such as the BAFUNCS Career Series, the Development Case Challenge and the initiation of the inaugural mentorship program. Especially the latter is exemplary of what we achieved together.

I would like to thank you for all the hard work you put into making our committee as successful as it was and making it such an enjoyable and rewarding experience for everyone involved!

By Antonia Boeckers

Events Director: Charmaine Low

If there is one thing I have to say about my Events Director Charmaine, it is that she is an incredibly supportive leader. I believe each of my fellow event officers similarly feels that she, as a leader and a mentor to every one of us, has consistently given an ear to every idea, contact or initiative we proposed.

And she pushed for them with all her heart and effort. I recall our Events Division meetings where, no matter if we were discouraged or daunted, she would always be encouraging and showing us possibilities for the future.

Charmaine is a supremely competent enabler, and thought she might worry at times, she often discovers that she has nothing to worry about, having already thought through and swiftly executed whatever she has set out to do. Before each event, she is almost always the first to arrive, both helping out and coordinating the set-up. I am proud to have worked under her in the Events Division, and she has done an outstanding job throughout the 2016/2017 Academic Year.

Personally, I have known her for many years, and shall confidently say that in few other people will you find as steadfast, caring and intelligent a friend, and I have faith that she will succeed whatever her next pursuit may be.

By Aaron Quak

Corporate Director: Viktor M. Salenius

The UN Society is indebted to Viktor Salenius for his efforts in establishing the a new branch of the Society, the Corporate Division.

Despite the significant challenge to Viktor in needing to forge completely new partnerships with external organisations, his dedicated work in coordinating his team and patience in teaching them the rules of marketing and negotiating allowed the Division to develop a relationship with the prestigious Foreign Policy Magazine and with stores on Kingsway.

Furthermore, Viktor worked tirelessly to support the other UN divisions with their funding applications. His work has been fruitful and prepared the incoming Director very well for her takeover, and for that he deserves many thanks and well wishes for his future endeavour as Vice President of the Society.

By Emilie La Cour

Social Media Director: Daria Bashkatova

A sincere thank you to our former social media director, Daria Bashkatova, for her outstanding work in making our media presence accessible to our thousands of online members. Daria is currently a second-year IR student who has done an incredible job in creating and designing our beautiful UN society website. She has displayed great professionalism and her dedication and commitment has been of immense help to the entire UN society.

As a Facebook administrator, she has been constantly on the job by promoting events, responding to messages, constantly keeping members informed and being active on various pages of divisions on Facebook.  You could be sure to see her at events, regularly taking pictures to record an everlasting memory.

As a director, she worked with her officers to run the student-run blog where members expressed their opinions on global issues. Over the year, Daria has delivered greatly to the society and I could not be more proud to continue her legacy.

Thank you, Daria, for all your hard-work and we hope to continue receiving your help and that you do not detach yourself from the society as you have been a great family member to us all.  We wish you great success in your future and we could not be more proud in having you as one of us.

By Maryline Ebu