Raising the Georgetown Flag at the Biggest International Law Moot Court Competition

By Carl Jambo (GU-Q’28), is a sophomore student at Georgetown University in Qatar. For the Desert Hoya Blog, he shares his experience as a member of the Georgetown Moot Court which is part of an on-campus club, the Georgetown Law Society.

Sometimes the most courageous step you can take is to clench your fists, whisper an affirmation of hope, and press ‘submit’ on that Google form. It was 11:00PM, less than an hour to the deadline as I sat staring at the application for the Georgetown Moot Court team. I couldn’t help but wonder whether I would be good enough,  right up until the moment I clicked submit. That single click became the spark that set the stage for an unimaginable intercontinental journey to North America.

At Georgetown, students are presented with an ocean of choice with regards to extracurricular involvement. With so many clubs and societies, you are faced with two choices: taking the blue pill and joining groups that feel familiar to your high school experience, or taking the red pill and venturing into uncharted territory. I chose the red pill. I had no background in international law or mooting, yet I knew that applying to join the Georgetown Moot Court Team would push me beyond my comfort zone and offer a worthwhile experience. What came next, I could never have imagined.

A few weeks later, I was welcomed into a team of seniors who lived and breathed international law. I had everything to learn, from research methods to legal argumentation. What pushed me forward was the zeal and the hunger to gain competence and the determination to prove myself. Hours quickly turned into weeks of research, practice, and personal study. Gradually, I began to understand the legal problem we were tackling, and through the combined efforts of the team, our memorials (a legal document that presented our team’s arguments for the hypothetical case) were ready.

The moment of truth arrived when I was selected as one of the five team members who would represent Georgetown at the Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition in Washington, D.C. Out of more than 800 global teams, we were part of the 152 who qualified for this prestigious event. Standing in front of panels of judges, I realized how much I had grown. I went from knowing nothing about international law to confidently presenting legal arguments on the world’s biggest stage as a first year student.

The opportunity opened my eyes towards gratitude. Georgetown had given me access to an opportunity I could never have imagined. I learned the essence of teamwork, where leadership, logistics, research, and practice all played vital roles. We thrived because we leaned on each other’s strengths. The preparation also showed me the power of community. Beyond our team, we tapped into the wider Qatar Foundation network, including leading professors at Hamad Bin Khalifa University who mentored us through practice sessions.

Casting my net into the unknown brought rewards far greater than I had expected. The competition opened me to a world of global networking, from meeting professionals at the World Trade Organization to forging friendships with fellow competitors from as far as Taiwan. More importantly, it taught me the rewards that existed when one casted their net into the unknown.

Being a Hoya means embracing the drive to excel. My experience with Moot Court taught me that stepping into discomfort isn’t just about gaining knowledge, it’s about uncovering your fullest potential and becoming the best version of yourself.

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