STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Cherishe Dominique Cahya Suwarna

Hello! I’m Cherishe, a 16-year old student from Jakarta, Indonesia, and I represent the Minister of Education in the European Union at the Virtual Model G20 Summit.

I have always wanted to join a Model G20 summit because Model G20 allows us to be in the shoes of world leaders, and I’m always open to looking at the world from a different perspective. The reason why I specifically chose to join this Virtual MG20 Summit was that I wanted to be in the shoes of a minister that can make the change I want to see in the world, especially in such a significant time in history. Additionally, I wanted to see the thought process behind the decisions countries make to jumpstart their economy again, while simultaneously thinking about their citizens involved.

As someone who has a fear of meeting new people and communication skills that leave much to be desired, the summit was off to quite a rocky start. I slipped up many more times than I could remember and felt very underprepared, but I learned to grow from those mistakes. The summit has pushed me outside my comfort zone, taught me to be kinder and how to further manage my time wisely. Moreover, the summit has sharpened my negotiation, communication, and writing skills, as well as taught me how to keep an open mind.

To anyone else who is just as nervous as I was on day 0 of this summit—and in a sense, to the Cherished whose heart was beating in her ears—my best advice would be to be confident. You won’t be a perfect delegate, but as long as you do your best and put effort into the work, it will be appreciated.

As the article and Summit comes to a close, I would like to say that everyone I’ve met and interacted with during this summit is the brightest minds I’ve ever met. To all 120 delegates—especially to my fellow European Union delegates: Gabby and Jay—it has been a pleasure to be able to work with such talented, confident, and outspoken minds for the past three weeks. I wish you all the best of luck in your future endeavors, wherever they may be.