M. Talha Qureshi and three other CSU-Pueblo international students will represent the United States in the New York Global Young Leaders Summit International Model United Nations held in New York. Photo courtesy of the Today.

M. Talha Qureshi will act as liaison officer for the team of Colorado State University-Pueblo students representing the United States of America in the New York Global Young Leaders Summit International Model United Nations held in New York this spring break.

The NY-GYLS Int’l MUN Summit will last from March 26–29, and will be held in New York according to a NY-GYLS Int’l MUN appointment letter.

The Summit is taking place at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan, N.Y. According to Qureshi, he is paying for the trip with money from fundraising and donations from the community of Canon City, Colo.

Qureshi, along with three other CSU-Pueblo international students will represent the United States in the NY-GYLS Int’l MUN. According to Qureshi, Damilola Ogunbayode from Nigeria, Ahmet Cobanoglu from Turkey and Mengjie Ma from China, will be attending the Summit.

According to the appointment letter, the Summit is a unique opportunity to unite students from different cultures to discuss and debate global issues and their solutions. Students from the most prestigious universities of the world will simulate the responsibilities of Ambassadors and UN representatives.

According to Qureshi, each delegate is assigned a country to represent and a committee to sit on during the Summit. Qureshi, Ogunbayod and Ma are representing the country of Iraq, while Conbanoglu was assigned Afghanistan.

Qureshi and Conbanoglu are assigned the Millennium Development Goals, while Ogunbayode and Ma are assigned to the committees of General Assembly 2 and General Assembly 3, according to Qureshi.

The delegates are required to intensely research their countries and to write a paper that they will present March 26 at the UN headquarters.

“I’m taking the name of the United States of America on my shoulders,” Qureshi said. “[Its] definitely putting a lot of burden [on me].”

With Qureshi’s background of coming to the United States from Pakistan when he was 15, he wants to represent the United States to the best of his ability.

“I just want to thank this country, I want to thank the United States of America for everything it has done for me,” Qureshi said.

Qureshi wanted to also thank all the people and organizations that have welcomed him “so whole-heartedly to this country.”

Qureshi is no stranger to global projects, since he has been involved with international activism for around six years. His five-page resume and his position as president of the International Students’ Association resulted in Qureshi being elected as the liaison officer for the Summit.

As liaison officer, he was given the ability of finding international students from CSU-Pueblo that would qualify for his team of delegates. Qureshi found four students that were interested and who the Summit decided were qualified to be become his team.

Qureshi, if his career in news broadcasting does not work out, hopes that this Summit will provide him with experience that will aid him as an international newscaster.

“This will serve as my debut to the United Nations, this is a big thing,” Qureshi said. “I hope I don’t put the name of this country down.”