Clark University graduate Yohan D. Senerath ’14 has been named to the select roster of the 2013-2014 North American College All Star Model UN Team.
The list of best delegates in the Model UN College Circuit in the United States and Canada is published by Bestdelegate.com, the premier organization in charge of advocating for Model UN and promoting it worldwide.
Senerath’s profile at the site reads: “As Head Delegate, Yohan has not only been a major source of encouragement and passion, but also a source of great knowledge. He has been the team’s guru, helping even the most experienced delegates with substantive and strategic committee advice. Although Yohan draws from a massive source of natural talent, he relies heavily on his passionate work ethic and managed to win an award at every competitive conference he attended.”
Clark University is among the top 20 in Best Delegate’s just-released North America Final College Rankings for 2013-2014.
“Yohan is an exceptional student of international relations and history,” added Clark University Model UN faculty adviser Srini Sitaraman, associate professor of Political Science. “He has deep interest and unbounded enthusiasm for international diplomacy. His mastery over Model UN debate procedures and his personal knowledge is extraordinary. I believe that Yohan will go on to do great things in the world of diplomacy.”
Senerath, who received a BA, magna cum laude, in political science and history at Clark’s Commencement on May 18, has been accepted into the top-ranked Masters of Science in Foreign Service Program at Georgetown University. He is among fewer than 100 applicants to be accepted from among a pool of 800; with a mere 10 percent entering straight from college (about four years of work experience is generally required).
Senerath was a member of the Global Scholars Program at Clark University (2010-2014). His other honors and activities include a Harrington Public Affairs Fellowship for Political Science Majors and induction into Pi Alpha Theta – National History Honors Society and Pi Sigma Alpha – National History Honors Society for Academic Accomplishment in Political Science. His internship experiences include work with the National Peace Council Sri Lanka as Election Monitor for People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections monitoring the first Local Council Elections held in the war-ravaged Northern Province in Sri Lanka; the Sri Lankan Mission to the UN in New York; and a position with the office of the Permanent Observer of the Caribbean Community at the United Nations in New York.
Senerath was accepted as a Clark LEEP (Liberal Education and Effective Practice) Pioneer, receiving a research grant to study, during the summer of 2013, Sri Lankan foreign policy during the fourth phase of the Sri Lankan Civil War.
As Head Delegate Clark University Model United Nations, Senerath consistently excelled at competitions and was named Outstanding Delegate at the Harvard National Model United Nations, the Security Council Simulation at Yale University, and the Five College Model UN Conference at Mount Holyoke College. He earned Honorable Mention Delegate awards at Harvard, Columbia, and Georgetown.
“The social intelligence that I acquired from this activity nicely complemented my academic training in political science and history, which helped enrich my diplomatic skill set immensely – a perfect blend of theory and practice of international affairs,” Senerath said. “The individuals you meet at Model UN are a fantastic bunch of people who are incredibly aware about the world and determined to make a positive change.”
Senerath is a 2009 graduate of the Colombo International School in Sri Lanka.
Founded in 1887 in Worcester, Massachusetts, Clark University is a liberal arts-based research university addressing social and human imperatives on a global scale. Nationally renowned as a college that changes lives, Clark is emerging as a transformative force in higher education today. LEEP (Liberal Education and Effective Practice) is Clark’s pioneering model of education that combines a robust liberal arts curriculum with life-changing world and workplace experiences. Clark’s faculty and students work across boundaries to develop solutions to complex challenges in the natural sciences, psychology, geography, management, urban education, Holocaust and genocide studies, environmental studies, and international development and social change. The Clark educational experience embodies the University’s motto: Challenge convention. Change our world. www.clarku.edu
