Deciding what to major in is a very hard decision, especially for people who don’t really know where their passion lies yet. I was one of the many lost people who didn’t know what they want to do in their future. I was thinking about engineering, and maybe international business, but my math grades weren’t the best. I also dreaded doing math.

I’ve been in Model UN since the beginning of my freshman year. At the last conference my school attended during my first year of high school, Northwestern University Model UN conference (NUMUN), I was placed in the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as Tajikistan. I had never heard of Tajikistan, and I was worrying about competing against five older teammates, two of whom ended up being the Presidents of my Model UN team in the future. While being very nervous, I started my research for my three topics. To my surprise, Tajikistan was a country that was very passionate about sustainable development, and the health of the environment.

Seeing the approach that was taken by Tajikistan really made me more inquisitive about the environment and what nations have done about it. The committee ended, and I ended having a lot of fun. I hoped to be in UNEP again sometime in my Model UN career.

That opportunity came my sophomore year when my team attended the National High School Model UN conference (NHSMUN). I was placed in UNEP as the Republic of Korea. I was very excited to be in UNEP again, but little did I know that NHSMUN required positions papers for each topic to be the between four to ten pages in length. This was a major struggle, but I sucked it up, and began to research.

Little did I know, I would find myself mesmerized by the complexity of issues like the loss of marine biodiversity, or agriculture’s impact on the environment. I would spend around 3 hours researching every day before the conference, for fun. I never realized how interesting the environment was, and how important it is to the world. Both of my position papers ended up being ten pages each. I received a lot of positive feedback about my research from the Vice Chair.

As someone with ADHD, I usually don’t pay attention to all of the speeches made in committee, but I can say that this was definitely the first time I paid attention to almost all of them.

For the last two years of my Model UN career, I would always place myself in UNEP or any committees that are related to the environment. Whether it is the World Health Organization 2050 or The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, I used MUN to learn more about the environment, its impact on the world we live in, and the creative solutions we can take to fix issues.

Finally, it was fall of 2017 and time for me to apply for colleges. I had to decide what I wanted to major in. That was when I discovered that I wanted to major in Environmental Studies. With every new conference I went to, I got to learn about a new facet of environmental issues. Model UN gave me the opportunity to explore different topics, and find my ultimate passion. It also provided me with some preliminary experience in research and writing in that topic. Armed with these skills, I feel ready for my major, and I am almost certain I want to continue with this topic in the future, all thanks to the committees I excitedly participated in.

I am very happy that I will be attending Gettysburg College, as a member of the class of 2022, where I hope to follow my passion. Despite the stereotype of MUNners being humanities or social sciences majors, you can explore more issues and topic areas than just those types. If you’re an underclassman, or even an upperclassman in high school that has no idea what they want to do in their future, you can find your interests lie in the most interesting of ways through Model UN committees. Trust me.

In many schools, Model United Nations is one of the most popular and well-funded clubs.  Students are able to combine their passions for public speaking and global affairs with a fun extracurricular activity that provides them with better awareness and new life skills. This, however, is not a reality for every high school student.  Despite the popularity MUN has gained in recent years, some schools don’t have their own MUN teams. I argue that Model UN motivates high school aged students, and is vital to the educational process. Many others agree.

Some students believe that MUN should be encouraged in schools, because of the valuable learning experiences.  Sarah Wells of Madison, Wisconsin, a member of her school’s MUN team, is one of these students.

“I learned how to compromise and respect others’ ideas.  I also learned how to look at problems from other sides, as the opinions of the countries I have represented in MUN are often different than my own,” Wells said.

For students who go to schools without teams, it can be difficult to find a way to participate in MUN or any other related activity.  Jessica Seldner of Eatontown, New Jersey goes to a school that does not have a team, but she participates in MUN at the high school in her district. The experiences Seldner has had in MUN have made her believe that her own school would benefit from having an MUN team.  One beneficial aspect is the awareness she has developed from the program.

“I definitely think the MUN program at my home high school was a great club to get involved in,” Seldner said.  “The MUN has taught me how to engage with others and solve problems together.”

Cara Wagner of Cincinnati, Ohio also believes that having a Model UN team in her school has made her more aware of the world she lives in, which, in turn, has allowed her to be more cognizant of the struggles faced in other countries.

“I think it is very important for people to learn about different countries, and people, and cultures when they are young because this is the only way we as a society will be able to start truly building connections despite our differences,” Wagner said.

MUN teaches students to research and debate global issues, while taking all sides into account.  This provides them with a better awareness of how world issues affect them, and gives them the tools they need to find solutions to these problems outside a classroom setting. By creating MUN teams in schools that do not already have them, these lessons would become easily accessible to all students.  Without them, students can miss out on valuable knowledge that can better their futures.

To start a Model UN club, begin talking with your middle or high school administration and gather a group of students who have shown interest, to show how important this is to you. Then, refer to this article for some tips on how to keep it going!

Guest article by Abhinav S Krishnan

In recent years, hundreds of conferences have sprung up across the world, providing delegates with numerous opportunities and an increasingly pertinent question: Where should you start your Model UN career?

Choosing a Model United Nations Conference to attend can often be a daunting task, especially for first-time delegates who have yet to get a feel for their local circuits. Conferences differ in size, length, and quality of debate, making it hard to establish a clear ranking system. Furthermore, the costs of attending conferences can serve as a barrier to some who are constrained by their financial situations. In light of this problem, here is my opinion on the different tiers Model UN conferences and how you can choose the conference that fits you!

Tier 1: Local

Although some delegates insist on trial by fire at larger conferences, the general consensus among Model UN delegates is that a local conference is the best place to start. Attending MUNs hosted by local schools and community centers is a great way for first-time delegates to test the waters and get a feel for the Model UN experience. These conferences are relatively small and comparatively new, with little over 200 delegates in attendance and less than two years of past experience. Most committees are geared towards general topics with emphasis on building skills.

Tier 2: District and Regional

While district and regional conferences are frequently overlooked, they act as stepping stones that help build confidence and hone public speaking skills prior to attending a national conference. Delegate participation ranges between 250 and 500 delegates which allows for committees to function at optimum capacity without an oversaturation of ideas. These three day conferences are often used to evaluate a delegate’s ability to attend larger and longer national conferences.

Tier 3: National

Participating in and winning awards at national conferences like Harvard MUN and Ivy League MUN Conference mark the highest level of achievement for many delegates. With delegate participation in the upper hundreds and lower thousands these conferences attract orators from across the country for sessions that typically last four to five days. With a much wider variety of committees, from general UN committees to more nuanced bodies, national level conferences offer delegates a chance to test their prowess in a new and often daunting environment. Bagging Best Delegate at these conferences is considered quite an achievement, but the experience in and of itself is well worth participating.

Tier 4: International

The opportunity to attend an international conference is one seldom received, but is an opportunity like none other. These conferences tend to vary in size, but usually number into the thousands with conference sessions that can last for close to a week. Many international conferences are world-renowned with decade-long legacies. Examples of these include The Hague International MUN in the Hague and the National High School MUN in New York, both with participation in the upper 3000s. It is important to note, however, that these conferences require months of preparation and are fairly expensive. While sponsors can help alleviate financial constraints, students should carefully consider their commitment and ability to attending such a large conference.

General Advice

A good rule of thumb is to pace your conference progression. Delegates should ideally attend two to three conferences at lower tiers and gradually increase their investment in larger, less frequent conferences at higher tiers. The trick is to avoid stagnating at a particular skill level: delegates may feel confident excelling at low tier conferences without ever challenging themselves to compete at a higher level. At the same time, some delegates will rush to larger conferences without fully developing their interest and can find themselves stressed and unmotivated. Assessing your current and potential skill level is the key to a successful Model UN career. It’s safe to say that attending national level conferences without having previously participated in, let alone winning, a local or district competition is risky. But if you’re up to the task, go for it!

A note for first-time delegates:

Don’t be daunted by the sheer number of conferences you can attend. Do your conference research, choose wisely, and never forget to challenge yourself!

Best of luck and happy MUNing!

Guest Article by Duncan Justice

Secretary-General Duncan Justice welcomes delegates to the fourth edition of IUMUNC

From February 23 to February 25, almost 400 high school delegates met on the campus of Indiana University-Bloomington for a weekend of debate and compromise. Starting only four years ago with about 70 delegates, this year marked the largest Indiana University Model United Nations Conference held. With 12 committees, we also debuted our first Joint Crisis Committee and our first International Court of Justice committee. Delegates discussed a wide array of issues, from the European Commission’s approach to Brexit, to whether or not the Justices of the Tribunal on the Law of the Seas should rule in favour of the Philippines in their case against China on the South China Sea.

In a crisis committee, delegates mourn the death of Joseph Stalin

Delegates also had the opportunity to interact with representatives from the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs, School of Global and International Studies, departments from the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as Foreign Language Flagship Programs and the Indiana University Honors Program in Foreign Languages.

Keynote speaker Michael McLellan discussing diplomacy and the public sector

Opening Ceremonies were headlined by Michael McClellan, the Diplomat-in-Residence at Western Kentucky University and a retired Foreign Service Officer with placements in North Yemen, Egypt, Iraq and South Sudan. In his opening remarks, he encouraged the high school delegates to consider a career in public interest work, such as work in the diplomatic corps or with non-governmental organizations, and emphasized the importance of solving international issues. He recounted stories from his days as a Foreign Service Officer and he highlighted that, though he might not have changed the world, he changed at least one person’s world and this is goal of diplomacy. Executive Assistant Dean of the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Michael McGuire, also briefly spoke to the delegates about the educational opportunities that they could take advantage of to accomplish the mission that Michael McClellan set out for them.

Members of the EC eagerly waiting to give a speech

Working endlessly since the end of IUMUNC III, the staff and secretariat of IUMUNC IV were thrilled to see the success of the conference. The Secretary General of IndianaMUNC V, Andrew Greco, looks forward to further success next year!

Duncan Justice

Secretary General, IUMUNC IV

WIMUN New York is the most accurate simulation of the United Nations! WIMUN New York is the Flagship edition of WIMUN, other editions include WIMUN India and WIMUN Brazil. WIMUN 2019 will be the fifth edition of WIMUN Flagship. This year’s conference will take place from January 30th to February 2nd, 2019.

Speakers

Join us at WIMUN 2019 and hear from incredible United Nations Speakers such as Jan Eliasson, the former Deputy-Secretary-General of the United Nations who spoke at WIMUN 2015 in the United Nations Headquarters. Other speakers WIMUN has hosted in the past include Cristina Gallach, the former Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Public Information, Her Excellency Dessima Williams, the former ambassador of Grenada, and Permanent Representatives and Consuls General from Sri Lanka, Denmark, Bangladesh, and other Member States.

The New York Advantage

WIMUN takes place in New York City, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. New York City is the capital of Diplomacy as the home of the United Nations Headquarters. Delegates get the chance to explore Midtown New York and have lunch at any nearby local food spots that diplomats frequent. New York City is home to wonderful sites like the Empire State Building, Lady Liberty, and Central Park. Come join WIMUN and catch a Broadway Show after the conference!

Staff and Students From All Around The World

One of the benefits of WIMUN is that there is a strong sense of community and a strong bond among staff, despite geographic distance. Our student staff come from across the globe and spend months preparing the conference, mostly online. Once they are on-site there is an immediate staff culture of inclusivity. This extends to the delegates, who have hailed from 60+ countries in the past and have created valuable friendships that strengthened and grown the WIMUN community over the years.

Introducing the Economic and Social Council

At WIMUN 2019, delegates will be able to participate in a wider array of United Nations bodies than ever before. For the first time, WIMUN delegates will be able to experience the Economic and Social Council in addition to the General Assembly and Security Council.

This will be a chance for delegates to see a new side of the United Nations and experience more aspects of what it means to be a diplomat and representative for a country in another UN organ.

Click here to learn more and apply!

E-mail: wimun@nullwfuna.org

Purpose: The purpose of the North American Collegiate Model UN All-Star Team is to recognize exemplary individuals in the college MUN community who have made a difference inside and outside of committee. These sometimes represent but are not necessarily limited to just the best delegates or award winners; conferences already determine those accolades. Rather, the College MUN All-Star Team should be representative of the best and most respected leaders in the community. They are diplomatic and skilled in committee, help strengthen the relationships between schools, provide thoughtful leadership, and make the Model UN experience better for everyone.

Process: College students who participated in at least one college Model United Nations conference in North America were eligible to submit one nomination form of up to ten students on the college circuit. Because of the All-Star Team’s emphasis on community, students were only allowed to nominate up to two delegates from their own school and were not allowed to nominate themselves. The nomination process took place from April 23 – 30, 2018, and was promoted to a wide range of universities by the Best Delegate Media team. Each nominated name received one vote. Ballots were manually edited for spelling inconsistencies and manually checked for validity; only votes from valid ballots counted in the final numbers. Delegates receiving the top number of votes were given All-Star team honors divided into three tiers that reflect the percentage of votes received: 11 First Team, 11 Second Team, and 18 Third Team.

Credits: Best Delegate Program Manager Conna Walsh contacted Head Delegates and other college Model UNers to source the All-Star Team biographies and photos. Thank you to all the individuals who contributed biographies, and thanks to everyone on the circuit for participating in recognizing their peers for leadership in the community.

All names are in alphabetical order by last name within each tier. Biographies and photos are provided by the All-Star’s peers. This year’s biographers represented some of the top delegates on the circuit that were friends, teammates, and competitors of All-Star Team members.

College Model UN All-Star Team (First Team)

Rishi Bhargava
University of California, Los Angeles

In the last few years, Rishi’s flair for constructive debate and bloc-building in unmods has made him one of the best delegates UCLA has seen. Serving as a Head Delegate and the Director of Travel Team for UCLA in his senior year, he started off the season by picking up an award at CMUNNY, and then received a gavel three-peat by winning Best Delegate awards at TrojanMUN, AggieMUN, and HNMUN, making the season his best performance ever. Under his leadership, UCLA picked up delegation awards at CMUNNY, TrojanMUN, SBIMUN, AggieMUN, and UCBMUN. Affectionately known as the “team mom,” Rishi has been an exceptional leader and head delegate for the UCLA team for the last two years, constantly making sure that every delegate has a good time at the conferences they attend. As a friend and mentor to not only UCLA delegates, but to numerous delegates across the circuit, Rishi will be sorely missed by MUN at UCLA.

Shankar Chelliah
University of California, Los Angeles

Muthushankar “Hoot Hoot” Chelliah is a graduating senior, finishing off a powerful and impressive four-year run on the circuit. Since joining Model UN in his freshman year, Shankar has racked up numerous gavels during his career, including two from HNMUN and ChoMUN this past season. However, Shankar’s impact extends far beyond his award count; he is a veritable West Coast icon, beloved by nearly all who know him (and his sick owl tattoo). This year, he was responsible for leading UCLA to their greatest success yet as co-Head Delegate, and ensuring UCLA’s continued superior excellence as Director of Training. Following his graduation, he will work in investment banking, where he will finally be free to wear his large collection of Patagonia vests. His friends and teammates cannot wait to see what he will accomplish in the years to come. Shankar will be sorely missed following his departure, but he will certainly never be forgotten.

Dominick DeFazio
New York University

Dominick Defazio is a senior majoring in Business and Political Economy at NYU, graduating this May. He joined MUN his freshman year, where an impressive early record of awards led him to spearhead the NYUMUN Global Initiative during his sophomore year, establishing the NYULondon MUN club and travel team. As a junior he served as head delegate and this past year he has gaveled at multiple major conferences including UPMUNC, HNMUN, and CHOMUN. Outside of MUN he can usually be found channeling his passion for entrepreneurship and social impact into his startup MarketVote, biking around the city, climbing walls and hosting great parties.

Dominick is recognized by many across the circuit for his charisma, work ethic and dedication to MUN. Close friends will remark on his unparalleled sense of adventure and daring personality. Dominick is an invaluable teammate, a knowledgeable teacher, and a great friend, and we wish him the greatest success in his future endeavors.

Georgina Kenchington
Georgetown University

A senior at Georgetown University, Georgina Kenchington’s graduation will certainly leave a Geo-sized hole in the hearts of not only her teammates, but the entire circuit. Georgina has a knack for not only endearing herself to her competitors, but making lasting friendships across ranking rivalries and JCC lines, and truly and deeply cares about everyone she befriends, making her not only a wonderful competitor but above all else, a fantastic friend. Creative, assertive, and at times scarily convincing, Georgina served as Georgetown’s head delegate, ad hoc CM, and high school conference’s coordinated crisis CM, and truly established her legacy as a queen of crisis, gaveling 3 committees while putting literal blood sweat and tears into running the GU team. Never one to stop doing MUN, Geo will be working with a Model UN company in India next year.

Kevin Markowski
Florida International University

Although lot can be said about the person many folks recognize as “the Kevin,” no one defined the Model United Nations circuit better than he did. Described as “writing like Alexander Hamilton,” Kevin’s approach to Model UN embodied the best of the activity: substantive, research-based, and as seen by his recognition at HNMUN this year, highly diplomatic. Despite early “setbacks” at NCSC and CMUNNY this year, the circuit’s most prolific gavel machine would solidify his position among all-time greats by ending his career with 16 total gavels, with many of the coming in Ad-Hoc committees. Beyond awards, Kevin made an incredible effort in his time doing MUN to get to know as many others as he could. Always smiling, ready to meet others, and supportive of his many friends on the circuit, he will be missed sorely by both FIU and the entire Model UN community.

Corinne Riley
University of Chicago

Corinne Riley is a graduating senior and president of the UChicago team. On the circuit, she is a force to be reckoned with, slaying all committees who have had the chance to be graced by her presence. From competing on some of the largest committees on the circuit, to ending her MUN career as a faceless intern, Corinne has effortlessly transcended almost all areas of this activity you can think of. As president of UChicago’s traveling team this past year, she led the team to win all six conferences attended and has acted as a both role model and mom to its members and beyond. To be totally honest, if the team could buy out Morgan Stanley’s offer so she could stay on as president, they would in a heartbeat. Aside from eating eggs all day every day, towering over everyone in her incredible array of heels, lingering around the Reg library’s first floor distracting everyone, or just saving the environment one double sided print at a time, her love for this activity and her embodiment of it overall aims will be missed greatly next year. Goodnight Moon!

Michelle Rosario
Florida International University

Michelle Rosario is a graduating senior from Florida International University. This past year she served as Head Delegate making her final marks on the circuit. This year alone, Michelle participated in 9 conferences, earning Best Delegate at 6 of them and Outstanding Delegate for the remaining 3. Michelle went from not traveling her first semester on the team to awarding at every single conference she has been to, and finished her MUN career with 8 gavels. Such success is due to her compassionate leadership, her sassy determination, and relentless amount of preparation and research she put into every committee. She’s been an inspiration & mentor to the younger generation of FIUs team and a tremendous leader. Those who have competed with Michelle can attest to her authenticity and high respect for all those around her. Michelle’s personality has allowed her to make life-long friends in committee and has earned her the title “Queen of the GAs” on the circuit. Michelle left her mark on both FIUs team and the circuit and will be deeply missed.

Ellie Tingstad
Michigan State University

Ellie Tingstad is a rising senior studying Economics at Michigan State University. Ellie is one of MSU’s best delegates, winning awards at all 4 conferences she attended this year. She is constantly inspiring the the rest of MSU’s team to strive to reach her level of competition and a valuable member of the team. Beyond her competitive nature, she is respected across the circuit for her fun and ferocious attitude in and outside of committee. There’s never a dull moment with Ellie, whether it be sassy remarks all weekend long at conferences, or her yelling “YAAAS” as her friends around the circuit win awards during closing ceremonies. She has made lifelong friends through Model UN and will surely make more as she goes into her senior year.

Ishaan Veen
University of Virginia

As a first year, Ishaan has left his mark on the college MUN circuit. Coming off hot with a two streak win at NCSC and CMUNNY, Ishaan has impressed some seasoned veterans from the college circuit while also inspiring his fellow younger delegates. Having a knack for creative (and devious) crisis arcs, Ishaan ensures that committee is a fun and suspenseful time. Picking up the baton as one of UVA’s head delegates, Ishaan is sure to take the team to new heights while continuing with his stellar performance across the board.

Ayelet Zamek
Michigan State University

Ayelet Zamek is a graduating senior at Michigan State University, with a degree in International Relations with minors in Russian and Eurasian Studies and Geographic Information Science. She has spent the last four years representing Michigan State, and she is really the embodiment of what it means to be a Spartan. Ayelet has served as an example to the rest of MSU’s team of what a best delegate should be: confident, poised, and capable of dealing with whatever committee might bring. She has been successful in every kind of committee, whether it be a double-del GA or an unexpected crisis. In addition to showing up for committee, she has also been instrumental in representing MSU at del fest with her zest for life. When not competing, Ayelet has also been the chair of several innovative committees for Michigan State’s high school conference, MSUMUN, and has also served as a Secretariat member. Ayelet has left a lasting legacy in MUN at Michigan State, and we can’t wait see what amazing things she does next.

Kara Zielinski
George Washington University

Kara Zielinski is a graduating senior who, after four amazing years at GW, has left her mark on the team and on the circuit. A frequent GA delegate, Kara brought in an incredible 20 awards in 4 years, while balancing a demanding biophysics schedule, and leading the team for over two years. Anyone who has been in committee with Kara has seen how incredibly passionate she is about MUN, but more than that, they have seen how much she cares about all of her friends on the circuit. On the circuit, she will be remembered for those late Friday night mergers and her composed demeanor during the toughest of Q&As. At GW, she will be remembered as the person who led the team to new heights, who fiercely believed in all of her delegates, and who, above all, deeply cares about her team. Kara will leave an great hole in the hearts of all those who know her, she will continue her journey in Germany next year as a Fulbright Research Fellow.

College Model UN All-Star Team (Second Team)

Shravan Balaji
University of Pennsylvania

Shravan Balaji is a phenomenal delegate, crisis director, leader, person, and friend. Shravan’s dedication and passion for Model UN is astounding to anyone who knows him, and is unmatched by anyone he encounters on the circuit. Despite many questionable decisions he may make, like competing in three Ad-Hoc committees back-to-back-to-back weekends, Shravan still manages to be an incredibly successful delegate, and leader for his team. Anyone who has the pleasure or horror of encountering Shravan in committee knows that if there is a crisis arc involving sports, it’s probably him. Shravan is the kind of guy who will have a smile on his face when things get crazy in committee. Not because it’s his arc, but because he just loves when all goes nuts. Shrav, congrats on another fantastic year, buddy. May next year be your best one yet.

Alex Clement
University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Alex Clement is someone who is extremely committed to Model United Nations. He works hard to get others excited about the club at the University of Tennessee, and always manages to work hard and excel at each conference he attends. Alex was the Secretary General of the last high school conference put on at the University of Tennessee, and will be the Vice President of the club going into his senior year. His commitment to the message of diplomacy emphasized through Model a United Nations is unmatched by many.

Elodie Currier
Georgetown University

Elodie began a powerhouse year with back-to-back gavels at CMUNNY and BARMUN, setting the tone for what would be her strongest showing yet. She went on to win awards at UPMUNC, McMUN, and CHOMUN, proving herself just as comfortable in the GA room as the crisis suite. Throughout it all, Elodie has emerged as not just as GUMUN’s most consistent member, but also one of its most committed. Distinguished for her diplomatic approach to MUN, Elodie is known for elevating the level of debate in committee, finding consensus where there is none, and moving committee forward in a way that enriches the experience for all those in it. A rising senior, she will go on to serve as CEO of GIRA (the parent organization for NCSC and its sister conference NAIMUN) next year, during which she will continue to compete for GUMUN and prove herself both a formidable opponent and friend to those on the circuit.

Renda Ding
New York University

Out of the hundreds of thousands of delegates around the world, Renda Ding stands unmatched in her absolute sincerity, impossible friendliness, and sheer intelligence. Her awards record aside (five total: two gavels from ChoMUN, a gavel from Harvard, another two from European conferences), Renda is different than most. No one walks away from a conference with more friends, more admirers of her beautifully planned crisis arcs, or more respect for her Model UN skill. She epitomizes a “best delegate” through her gift in convincing even the most hostile power delegates that diplomacy comes first.

Renda joined Model UN during her Sophomore year in London. She was a founding member of the outpost of the main club, probably for the free pizza, and immediately dominated GAs across Europe. Upon returning to NYC, Renda turned her attention to Crisis, and quickly became a phenomenal MUN generalist, taking home GA and Crisis gavels from the most competitive of conferences. Her kindness, endless willpower, and undeniable brilliance have solidified her name in Model UN halls of fame across the world.

Muhammad Fusenig
University of California, Davis

Witty, charismatic, and the embodiment of professionalism, Muhammad Fusenig is a rising senior and the outgoing President of MUN at UC Davis. One of the fiercest crisis delegates on the West Coast, Muhammad is the delegate you’re relieved isn’t targeting you in committee. The minute debate is suspended, he’s the delegate inviting everyone to enjoy hundreds of McNuggets at 3AM. His undying loyalty to the West Coast, his club, and his friends makes him one of the most loved delegates on the circuit. Coupled with his powerful speeches and brilliant crisis arcs, his ability to empathize makes him a true force wherever he competes. Muhammad’s philosophy of Model UN is a relentless pursuit of a better, more inclusive circuit for everyone. He is a leader who stands by his teammates and will always be there to help. As President, Muhammad led UC Davis to its most successful MUN season ever, ending with the Best Large Delegation award at LAMUN. Muhammad will continue serving his club as a delegate and mentor in his senior year.

Anson Mersereau
George Washington University

Anson Mersereau is a graduating senior from the George Washington University. He is truly a crisis delegate through and through. He loves every crazy crisis arc he can come up with and is always willing to help others with theirs. His love of MUN continues to inspire underclassmen into trying crisis committees for the first time. He also served on GW’s Head Delegate Apparatus for two years. This past year, he became the King of Crisis serving as WAMUNC’s USG for Crisis, in which he helped others perfect their committees. He has been a mentor and friend to everyone he has met both at GW and on the circuit. His talent, creativity, and infectious laugh will be greatly missed in the crisis committees he thrived in.

Mohammad Qayum
University of California, Davis

Mohammad Qayum is one of the most endearing, driven, and skilled delegates that UC Davis has ever seen. He is confident and kindhearted, and has been an invaluable addition to Davis and the West Coast Circuit. While boasting an impressive resume of four intercollegiate gavels, coupled with an innumerable collection of Outstanding and Honorable awards, Mohammad is not only one of the most successful delegates in Davis MUN history, but one of the most kind and genial individuals you could ever meet. Rising to legendary status, Mohammad helped lead Davis to its most successful campaign ever, including Outstanding Small Delegation at TrojanMUN and Best Large Delegation at LAMUN. This past year he could be heard espousing his favorite motto, “West Coast Best Coast,” which to him is the culmination of the tremendous growth he has seen (and helped contribute to) over the past few years. With this said, there is no doubt that Mohammad Qayum will lead UC Davis to even greater heights as the most successful Secretary-General in Davis history.

Judson Rogers
University of California, Santa Cruz

Whether it be for his antics outside committee or for his skill as a crisis delegate, it’s hard to find someone on the West Coast who hasn’t heard of Judson Rogers. Beginning his Model UN career at Diablo Valley College and continuing on through his time at UCSC, Judson has won the first gavel for his school’s team — twice. Being one of the founding members of the UCSC travel team, Judson has served as the Head Delegate of SlugMUN for the past two years. His work in team education, skill as a crisis director, and passion for debate have been instrumental in driving the organization’s growth during this time. For all who know him, it is impossible to deny the mastery, creativity, and dedication with which Judson has approached and conquered each crisis he’s been involved in. It’s been a heck of a ride with Judson on our team and, while his absence will be sorely felt when he graduates, we look forward to seeing all that he will accomplish.

Caroline Rose
American University

Caroline Rose is a superstar. A graduating senior at American University, she has been a staple of the circuit for the last four years. Her talent and wit have made both the American University team and the circuit as a whole a better place since she joined. She has worked tirelessly as both Head Delegate and CEO of the IR Society to grow the AU team as well as performing spectacularly every time she traveled this year, in addition to being editor-in-chief of the undergraduate IR policy magazine, taking classes, and still making time for her friends. She is planning on putting her love of London and Middle Eastern policy together at the London School of Economics next year, where hopefully she can still make pancakes and find time to go monumenting. No matter what, her leaving the circuit will create a massive hole that will be hard to fill, and we’re extraordinarily sad to see her go, even if it is on to bigger and better things.

Tristan Smith
University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Tristan Smith is a graduating senior at the University of Tennessee and president of the school’s Model United Nations Club. A native of Maryville, Tennessee, Tristan has been the president of UT’s Model UN organization since his sophomore year.

Tristan is graduating with a degree in political science with an honors concentration and as a Howard Baker Scholar. He will be working on former Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen’s Senate campaign this summer before entering law school in the fall. He has previously interned for Congressman John Duncan Jr. and Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam.

Tristan’s long tenure as the university’s MUN President has seen the club’s membership and activity grow in ways that will leave a longstanding mark on the club’s history. His guidance and dedication to Model UN and the university have made him a welcoming role model and an invaluable friend to everyone in the club. We wish him only the best and have no doubt in his future success as he moves into the professional world.

Joe Wagner
American University

Joe Wagner has made a lasting impression on the collegiate circuit—but most importantly has served irrevocably as one of AU Model UN’s most legendary delegates. It is no surprise that Joe made it to All-Stars this year because he has become somewhat of a circuit meme: his fake student government campaign was the subject of a D.C. area Model UN party; Joe is such good friends with outside teams that he has become a “hybrid” member of W&M, Georgetown, and West Point; even Joe’s face and name has even been used as conference promotional material (in coloring book form)—simply because he is loved and recognized by his peers. The All-Star rankings are wonderful because they recognize impactful friends to all, like Joe Wagner. This list isn’t constructed based on awards data or endless knowledge about geopolitics, but rather focused on character, grit, and leadership from behind. Joe’s lack of an official head delegate status on the team does not negate his impact—he’s been a friend, an open ear, and a supporter to all that have approached him. While he’s not leaving DC and we are sure he will keep his door open for friends looking to eat under-cooked pasta on his incredibly stained carpet, the AU MUN team will be missing out next year.

College Model UN All-Star Team (Third Team)

Jackson Armstrong
United States Military Academy at West Point

Jackson Armstrong has been a true force of nature on the inter-collegiate circuit and or West Point’s program at large. Despite Jack being an unshakable debater, exemplary leader, and meme extraordinaire – he will be the first to deny the weight of his impact upon teammates, friends, and delegates. He helped the West Point Model UN team collectively architect one of the most realistic inter-agency simulations at WPMUNI in 2016 and 2017, and has thrived in a myriad of ad hoc committees this year. But it is Jack’s demeanor, friendliness, and candor that will be truly missed by all.

Grace Bandeen
University of Southern California

Grace is a graduating senior at USC, double-majoring in International Relations and Cinema/Media Studies. In her four years, Grace has been instrumental in bringing a unique culture and motivation to USC’s team. After four years of high school MUN, Grace came full force into the college circuit, racking up one Outstanding Delegate award after the next, finishing off her career with gavels at McMUN and LAMUN in 2018. Grace “Crisis Queen” Bandeen is known across the circuit for her creative crisis arcs and fearless personality, making her an impressive delegate and an even more impressive crisis director. As Director of Crisis Training, Grace shared her expertise with USC Model UN; her passion for international politics has led her to be a role model along the West Coast. On top of her MUN experience, Grace is graduating with an honors thesis in IR focused on oil. Although her Trojan family is certainly going to miss her, we are excited to see where she will go in life.

Aric Chang
University of California, Berkeley

Some may ask, who is Aric Chang? Well, where to begin… the definition of the American Dream, Aric Chang was born in Taipei City, Taiwan and moved to the U.S. at a mere 3 years old. As a political, economic, and cultural hub for Taiwan, Taipei set the stage for our beloved young Aric to do great things. After moving across the Pacific pond, Aric attended Diamond Bar High School where he was briefly introduced to MUN. Upon attending Berkeley, he joined UCBMUN, a realm of pure adrenaline, intellect, and competitive spirit. The adolescent Aric Chang had discovered his true passion. Even though he wasn’t able to attend the University of Chicago, it worked out for the better as he completed his MUN career 3 for 3 with ChoMUN gavels. He also served as UCBMUN crisis head delegate for spring 2017-2018. Aric is known for his humble yet competitive demeanor and genuine compassion for everyone lucky enough to call him a friend. As a graduating senior, we’re sad to see him go, but he’s on to bigger and better things. We love you Aric! #westcoastbestcoast

Seth Fiderer
College of William & Mary

Seth Fiderer is a rising junior at the College of William & Mary and the incoming Head Delegate of the Model UN team. He made a big splash on the circuit last year as a freshman, accruing several awards and making just as many friends. Seth excels in both crisis and GA committees, but he has a special place in his heart for all topics and committees related to the environment. If you haven’t heard him talk about the Environmental Kuznet’s Curve, you probably haven’t competed against him. Widely known across the team and the circuit for having some of the most intricate and well-thought-out crisis plans, Seth is a force to be reckoned with inside of the committee room. He also has an unrivaled charisma which enables him to make friends wherever he goes. Seth is a tenacious delegate, a fearless leader, and an even better friend, who will undoubtedly lead the William & Mary team to further success next year and in the years to come.

John Govern
United States Military Academy at West Point

John Govern, a junior at West Point, has certainly made a distinct impact in the circuit through his three years in college MUN. When he’s not raving about his semester in France, he can be found in committee devising brilliant crisis arcs and making poignant speeches to drive home his talking points. John has succeeded in all different types of committees throughout the year, winning awards in general assemblies and crisis committees alike. John also has begun to fill his role as the Ad-Hoc delegate for next year, participating and gaveling in NYUMUNC’s Ad-Hoc. John not only captivates delegates with his words, but his friendly and approachable demeanor. Wholesome, genuine, and ready to send a meme at a moment’s notice, John has undoubtedly contributed positively to the MUN circuit. Next year, John will serve as the Head Delegate of the West Point team, carrying on a strong legacy of passion, competition, and friendliness that the team is known for.

Lily Harty
University of Southern California

Lily Darragh Harty is a graduating senior at the University of Southern California, and she is certainly not your conventional MUN All-Star. As the former President of USC Model United Nations, Lily transformed the club from a group of students interested in IR into a competitive team and close-knit family. She has not only born witness to her team’s growth, but also played a first-hand role in it. For conferences, Lily has traveled all over the continent, and staffed TrojanMUN and SCMUN as a USG and as a chair. In addition to her innumerable MUN accomplishments, she has excelled even further as a film student. As a Film and Television Production major, she was one of only a handful of students to be selected to direct a senior thesis film: “The Fringes.” Around the circuit, Lily is known for her soft smile and bubbly spirit, but don’t let her kind-hearted demeanor fool you––she’s there to win. The credits may be rolling for Lily’s MUN series finale, but don’t be surprised if the next time you hear her name is at the Academy Awards!

Stephan Horler
Florida International University

Stephan Horler is a graduating senior from Florida International University with a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Political Science. On the circuit and among his peers, he is notorious for knowing something about almost everything. Stephan is characterized through his “out of this world” creativity, complex plans and detailed notes. This past semester he competed in 4 conferences where he earned a top award in each one including the Best Delegate award from major conferences HNMUN and CHOMUN. All across the circuit, Stephan has created a network of “bros” that respect and admire him for his presence both inside and out of committee. After committee you can probably find him sharing gentlemen’s fashion tips, luxury watch guidance, or general life advice to anyone who asks for it. In Stephan you will find an amazing delegate and even more amazing friend. His retirement from the circuit will definitely leave a void – just like his man-bun did.

Daniel Montoya
Harvard University

Daniel Montoya has been a force to be reckoned with on the circuit for the last four years. He has previously served as Harvard’s head delegate, DG of HMUN India, and he has gone above and beyond not just for his team, but for others he’s competed against. While he may have a soft spot for Disney (a position which he awarded with), Dan has proven himself in every committee he’s competed in. Dan isn’t just a fantastic delegate, but is also a friend of the circuit as a whole, and he has consistently given advice not just to members his team, but rather his friends across the board when it came down to it. He will be truly missed next year and is wished the best of luck! Dan isn’t just a fantastic delegate, but rather is an incredibly talented friend to all who will do what it takes for what he believes in!

Aradhana Parikh
University of Chicago

In a year of record-breaking performance for the University of Chicago, all of the team agrees that they could not have done it without Aradhana Parikh. As the Team Director, Aradhana has been a driving force behind all of the successes that UChicago delegates have had- both in committee rooms and in their personal lives. On the circuit, Aradhana has frequented several Ad-Hocs and UNSCs where she’s been loved by many because of her seamless ability to get along with anyone. On campus, she’s led her team with a collected sense of confidence, passion, and a genuine care for every single individual. For the other members of her team’s leadership, Aradhana has served as a role model of the ideal professional and the perfect friend. For the rest of her team and the circuit as a whole, Aradhana is an example of a person who achieves everything she sets her eyes on. She’ll be dearly missed by all of us, but will continue to shine as a role model as she excels in her career with Boston Consulting Group and beyond.

Luxi Peng
New York University

Luxi has been on the circuit since her freshman year and her presence has been felt in every committee she’s been in. She has become NYU’s GA queen and has done committee after committee, all in 6 inch stilettos. She has been the designated team mom, team robot, and NYU’s favorite dog lover over the past 4 years. The circuit won’t be the same without her and she will be incredibly missed. The team loves her immensely and isn’t looking to lose this MUN All-Star, but we wish her all the best and cannot wait to see her kill it in those heels in boardrooms instead of committee rooms.

Genevieve Pool
Georgetown University

Gen Pool is a rising senior in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, majoring in coloring and why capitalism is bad. Although she loves being the mastermind of anything crisis while in the crisis suite, Ms. Pool peddles the rumor that she refuses to compete in anything but GA’s. Outside of MUN, she works with kids, is planning a big auction, and lives for New Student Orientation and senior dis-Orientation. Ms. Pool is one of the pillars of the Georgetown MUN program, and is setting herself to not only succeed on the circuit for her final year, but also to make some wonderful friends while doing so. Cheers to the best “nice on the outside, but infinitely petty on the inside” delegate we know, Gen Pool!

Matthew Rappe
Michigan State University

Matthew Rappe is a rising senior and true gem on the MSU team and the circuit. Hailing from Chicago, Matt has been involved in Model United Nations and passionate about all things Middle Eastern since high school. In addition, Matt’s enthusiasm and creativity in and outside of committee makes him a force to be reckoned with on and off the circuit. His approachable and energetic personality makes him one of the most beloved delegates on and off the MSU team. Matt has made significant efforts to increase a sense of community within the travel team to ensure that everyone feels included and confident as delegates and as individuals. Over the course of his MUN career, Matt has won several noteworthy awards, most recently in Kurdish and Iranian committees. Next year, Matt will make his final impact at MSU by serving as USG of Crisis for MSUMUN, MSU’s high school conference.

Oksana Ryjouk
American University

Oksana Ryjouk is one of the most ebullient delegates on the circuit—hands-down. Anyone that knows or has competed with Oksana is well-aware of her keen ability to make anyone feel welcome and included. As a exemplary leader and crisis maestro on the AU Model UN team, Oksana has been an asset to Head Delegates wishing to improve team skillsets and to newcomers, looking for a friendly source of encouragement. While her navigation skills are sub-par at best, her success on the circuit has been invaluable for the team’s ascent from top #75 her freshman year to top #8 this fall—to which she worked tirelessly for along with the team’s seniority and members at large. While the team jokes that Oksana would rather be a Hoya delegate because she hangs out with them all of the time, she’s been an amazing channel for AU’s team to meet and grow to love other teams on the circuit. AU will be missing a monumental part of its team next year without Oksana.

Derrick Siebman
United States Military Academy at West Point

Derrick Siebman is graduating with a degree in Economics from the United States Military Academy at West Point. He served as Cadet-in-Charge this year, winning more than a handful of individual awards and leading the team to win delegation awards at TrojanMUN, UCBMUN, MedMUN and NYUMUNC. Derrick’s relationship with Model UN is complicated to say the least, but when he’s not grumbling about Sunday sessions or crisis arc reveals, Derrick is one of the most talented, brilliant, and personable delegates to compete on the circuit. Though he probably won’t miss Model UN, Derrick will certainly miss all of the people that he has befriended along the way. Derrick looks forward to moving on beyond the world of Model UN to commission into the U.S. Army as an officer and attend flight school at the end of the summer. His (mostly) calm demeanor, commanding presence, and love for economics and the Army Team will be sorely missed by both the West Point MUN Team and the circuit.

Suraag Srinivas
Georgetown University

Suraag Srinivas is a sophomore in Georgetown’s SFS majoring in Science, Technology, and International Affairs with a concentration in Business, Growth and Development. While the National Collegiate Security Conference may be his natural habitat, this year Suraag was a force to be reckoned with on the circuit (as were his continuously questionable tie choices). In committee, Suraag is always one of the most energetic and passionate people in the room, and he was was more than willing to stay up at all hours to do what was necessary for his friends and the rest of his team. Catch him leading a fantastic NCSC next year as SG!

Jake Stoffel
United States Military Academy at West Point

Jake Stoffel is a rising senior at the United States Military Academy, where he studies history. Since joining West Point Model UN at the start of his sophomore year, Jake has been a favorite both on the team and beyond. His authentic Connecticut charm and expert eyeglass wear have won acclaim all around the circuit. With a smile and a smooth rebuttal, he can win hearts and arguments equally well, as both his committee performance and his wide-ranging friendships can attest. There is perhaps no one alive today that exemplifies genuine good-naturedness and honesty better than Jake. After closing this year out with a handful of gavels and a consistently stellar individual performance, Jake will move into a critical role on the West Point Model UN team next year and will undoubtedly help lead the team to even more success.

Aaron Tarajos
University of California, Berkeley

There are two types of people in this world: those who fight, and those who surrender. Aaron “Chad” Tarajos is a fighter. Born in Erie, Pennsylvania to a humble, middle-class family, Aaron grew up moving from place to place every few years. With his fighting spirit and nomadic lifestyle, Aaron was born to do MUN. Starting off his MUN career in Diablo Valley College, Aaron endlessly attended conferences. By the time he joined UCBMUN, Aaron had racked up 22 conferences, more than any other person on the team. A MUN kingpin and cunning Crisis delegate, Aaron takes no survivors, taking his most recent gavel from ChoMUN 2018. With his sharp wit and boisterous attitude, Aaron is well-loved by many on the circuit. A quintessential frat star, Aaron will power move his entire Committee with a fresh navy blazer, blue and gold Berkeley tie, and brown leather Sperry’s. Though many of his friends are graduating, we trust Aaron to carry on our legacy in his last year on the circuit. Love you, bro.

Malvika Varma
University of California, Los Angeles

Ever since joining Model United Nations at UCLA as a freshman, Malvika Varma had but one dream: to overthrow the Indian Patriarchy. Over the last few years, Malvika’s ability to command a committee room, weave together a crisis arc like no other, and cry at the slightest bit of turbulence on a flight have made her one of the most powerful and endearing delegates on the circuit. This past year, she has picked up awards at CMUNNY, TrojanMUN, HNMUN, UCBMUN, and ChoMUN, including winning 100 percent of the gavels that went to the West Coast at UCBMUN. Serving as one of the USG’s of Crisis Committees at LAMUN, Malvika has also been a constant pillar of support for many members of MUN at UCLA. After watching three Indian male Presidents pass by, she has finally accomplished her dream of toppling the Indian Patriarchy and sits atop as the President, establishing the first Indian Matriachy in the club’s history.

Which college Model UN teams are the best on the circuit? There are many definitions of success in Model UN, and awards are only one extrinsic way of measuring success. Nevertheless, awards have existed in Model UN for many years and serve to recognize individual students for their accomplishments in leadership, research, public speaking, resolution-building, negotiation, and diplomacy. The college rankings are meant to recognize entire teams for their efforts in preparing more students to succeed at more conferences, thereby improving the overall quality and expanding the Model UN activity.

Methodology

The World Division refers to the circuit of collegiate Model UN teams that are primarily run by college Head Delegates and primarily attend conferences hosted by college Model UN organizations, with the vast majority of those conferences featuring crisis committees. This ranking is only for the World Division.

The World Divsion Rankings uses a Cumulative Weighted Score Methodology. The Weighted Score Methodology is the same as in previous years with modifications in conference weightings to reflect attendance this year. Conferences included in the calculations are listed below and grouped with their approximate peer conferences in terms of weighting. Awards data were provided by the conferences, and we could only use conferences that chose to provide data.

• HNMUN
• UPMUNC, McMUN, ChoMUN
• NCSC, CMUNNY
• NYUMUNC, BarMUN, SCSY, VICS, LAMUN, UCBMUN
• TrojanMUN, MUNE, NAMUN, &MUN
• FCMUN, CIAC, SBIMUN, QMUNI, UNCMUNC, AggieMUN, FLCS, BUCS, PUNC

We would like to note that Harvard WorldMUN chose not to be included in the dataset, and we respect their decision as the rankings go against the spirit of that conference. Therefore, the results below do not include any awards earned from WorldMUN. We also did not receive data from DISCon, PICSim, and WUMUNC, so they were not included as well.

Proposed Change to Future Methodology: Best Delegate proposes to not include WorldMUN in the rankings going forward. The conference is unlike the rest of the conferences on this circuit as it has a different mission and does not typically take place in North America. This is to maintain consistency of the conferences used to define a particular circuit and to maintain consistency of the year-over-year dataset.

Editors’ Notes

Best Delegate staff Conna Walsh, Richard Zhao, Erik Leiden, Kevin Felix Chan, Genevieve Pool, and Elaine Miao all put in a tremendous amount of work to make this year’s college rankings possible.

Before we dive in, I’d like to mention the overall competitiveness of the rankings this year. For many schools, the margins of their overall ranking were razor thin and often came down to the decimal point (equivalent to one award). My point is that rankings can be volatile and unpredictable and though it should be a matter of pride it could never define a school or a club of their circuit achievements throughout the year.

Final placement below should be compared to the 2016-2017 Final Rankings as opposed to the 2017 Fall Rankings.

1. University of Chicago

The University of Chicago has reclaimed the throne as the #1 team on the circuit by absolutely dominating from start to finish this year. The team went undefeated with a total of seven best delegation awards in seven conferences. This included the Best Large Delegation awards at four of the six most competitive conferences: HNMUN, UPMUNC, NCSC, and CMUNNY. It won a Best Small Delegation award at another one of the six most competitive conferences, McMUN. And of course, UChicago hosted the last of the six competitive conferences, ChoMUN. Furthermore, it added a Best Large from UCBMUN and a Best Small from BarMUN. The team not just upgraded its travel schedule, but more significantly it won much more this year. The team had the most gavels on the circuit, and overall put in a performance where second place wasn’t even close — its cumulative weighted score is higher than the weighted score of the #2 and #15 teams combined. The last time UChicago was #1, it pulled that feat off for three straight years. Will this be the beginning of another UChicago dynasty?

Head Delegate Corinne Riley had the following to say about her teammates: “One of our delegates, Isaac Wink, said to the team after CMUNNY: ‘Remember guys, the real metal lion is the friendships we made along the way.’ I think that really encapsulates how our team approached MUN this year. Each conference was another opportunity to get early, sleepy flights together, finally see our friends on the circuit, and have fun doing an activity that we love. While I’m incredibly proud of the hard work and success we had this year, I’m more proud that we continued our tradition of making our team a family on campus and at conferences. It’s thanks to the passion that every member on the team has that we’ve become a loving and inclusive group for so many people at UChicago. Shoutout to Aradhana Parikh for being an incredible leader and friend. I’m happy to be leaving the team in the amazing hands of the new president RJ Ruano. Let next year’s flights be later, the conferences rowdier, the mergers shorter, and the Airbnb parties longer. Goodnight moon!”

2. University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania finished the year strong with a second place overall. Intercol, as their work hard/play hard travel team is called, put up impressive performances across the board to win the most individual awards on the circuit and third most gavels this year. The team ultimately took home five large delegation awards in nine conferences. UPenn closed out the year with three Best Large Delegation awards at ChoMUN, NYUMUNC, and VICS to add to its Fall haul of a Best Large Delegation award from SCSY and an Outstanding Large Delegation award from CMUNNY. The team also contended for delegation awards at NCSC, UCBMUN, and BarMUN. Last but not least, UPenn came in second overall at HNMUN above FIU, and that performance was also the closest any team came to catching UChicago in weighted score at an individual conference. Though the team did not receive a delegation award at HNMUN likely due to ratio, it showed again that it was nevertheless one of the best teams in the world. Penn IAA also hosted UPMUNC.

UPenn’s team had this to share about their incredible season: “Though we certainly had some setbacks this year and dealt with an outrageous schedule including three straight conferences to both start and end the year, we are extremely proud of our team’s effort in continuing to fight through all forms of adversity in order to grow as Model UN delegates and, more importantly, as people. Over 50 people traveled for us this year, with almost half of them traveling for the first time this year. We’re proud of putting our ‘work hard, play hard’ culture on display, and we have had such a diverse group of experiences this past year that allowed our family to become much closer.”

3. Florida International University

For the first time in their club’s history, Florida International University finished at #3 in for final rankings after clocking in at #4 for three consecutive years. FIU traveled to a circuit-high 11 conferences this year and won a circuit-high eight delegation awards — it repeated again as the team with the most delegation awards — with those delegation awards attributed to team members winning the second most gavels and third most individual awards on the circuit. After highlighting their Fall semester with a Best Large Delegation at BarMUN and contending for delegation awards at UPMUNC, NCSC, and CMUNNY, FIU came back even stronger in the spring semester to capture an impressive seven delegation awards in one semester. This included a breakthrough Best Large Delegation at McMUN over Georgetown and George Washington, and an Outstanding Large Delegation award at HNMUN by edging UPenn on ratio. Furthermore, the team won Best Small Delegation awards at a diverse set of conferences nationwide: ChoMUN, LAMUN, UCBMUN, &MUN, and MUNE. There is a huge drop-off in cumulative weighted score between FIU and the next ranked team — FIU’s competitive peers this year were really only UChicago and UPenn.

FIU provided the following insight into their experiences this season: “This past year has been nothing short of amazing for the FIU Model United Nations Team. We have 17 seniors graduating who truly gave everything they had to this team. In the fall, we took home our first ever Best Large Delegation at a major conference when we earned that award at BarMUN. In the spring, we went 7 for 7 delegation awards in getting Best Large at McMUN, Outstanding Large at HNMUN, Best Small at UCBMUN, Best Small at MUNEmory, Best Small at &MUN, Best Small at ChoMUN, and Best Small at LAMUN. Most incredibly, we had dozens of new delegates really break through their shells and come into their own this year and they are the future of this team. We are grateful to every team that hosted us this season and put on some really exceptional conferences. Our greatest honor is competing alongside some of the most capable individuals that the collegiate circuit has to offer. We look forward to seeing you all at conferences in the fall.”

4. The George Washington University

George Washington breaks into the Top 5 of the final rankings for the first time in club history — giving the team its highest rank ever — and has displaced Georgetown as the highest ranked team in DC for the first time in rankings history. Given the opportunity to shine with a travel heavy schedule of ten conferences, its team members won many awards including the fourth most gavels on the circuit this year. GW won the Outstanding Large Delegation award at BarMUN and the Outstanding Small Delegation at ChoMUN — both times finishing better than the typically larger Georgetown team in terms of weighted score. However, its key performances were at the largest conferences where it contended for delegation awards against the top teams in the world. This included a top five finish among North American teams at HNMUN, finishing second overall at McMUN, and fourth overall at UPMUNC. The team also finished second overall at VICS and won awards at NCSC, CMUNNY, NYUMUNC, and &MUN to round out its resume.

GW Head Delegate Hari Asuri had this to share with us: “The past year has honestly been a crazy blur but the one thing I remember clearly was the amount of hard work every single member of GWMUN put into every single conference it went to. This translated into some of the best UPMUNC, MCMUN, and HNMUN performances we as a team have ever had as well as a 12 for 12 finish at CHOMUN which resulted in a delegation award. I know for a fact that many members of our team managed to balance immense personal stress and hardships and still managed to work hard and delivered one of the best years GWMUN has had performance wise in recent history. To my team thank you for your hard work! GWMUN has the momentum, and we are excited to charge straight into the 2018-2019 season.” 

5. Harvard University

Harvard finished the year with a top-five ranking having won delegation awards at half of the eight conferences that it attended. The team did best at mid-sized conferences and snagged three Outstanding Large Delegation awards this year at NCSC, UCBMUN, and SCSY. It also took home the Outstanding Small Delegation award at LAMUN to give the team a pair of West Coast delegation awards. Harvard finished in the top ten at the other four conferences it attended — UPMUNC, ChoMUN, CMUNNY, and NYUMUNC — and tended to be in contention for a large delegation award at every conference. Overall, its delegates won the fourth most individual awards on the circuit this year, and that consistency enabled it to edge out Georgetown for the top five rank. Harvard IRC also hosted HNMUN Boston among many other conferences.

Co-Head Delegate Spencer Ma and Andrew Jiang were exceptionally proud of their team. “The Harvard team has always prided itself on creating long-lasting, strong team and circuit families, and this year was no exception. We took on a phenomenal freshman class that brought so much to the spirit and community of the team, and we continued to bring substantively excellent and genuine delegates to all the conferences on the circuit. In all of our years, we have never seen such active and engaged team members who certainly eclipsed our expectations we had set for the team. Not only did our team flourish at conferences to see a wide array of delegate successes, but we also extended and solidified many of the strong relationships we made with so many other collegiate teams. We are looking forward to continuing and building more friendships while traveling under the leadership of the new Head Delegates, Jenna Wong and Safa Salem.”

6. Georgetown University

Georgetown experienced a late season surge that helped it finish in sixth place in the rankings this season. GUMUN, or the “Queen of Honourable Mentions” as one Georgetown delegate jokingly proclaimed, tied for the fifth most individual awards on the circuit this year. The team won the Outstanding Large Delegation award at ChoMUN and the Best Small Delegation award at VICS to end its year on a strong note. Furthermore, the team won the Outstanding Small Delegation award at WorldMUN, which is notable though not included in the rankings. Although the team did not win a delegation award at McMUN, a conference it has traditionally dominated, it did finish first in terms of weighted score there and likely lost due to ratio. The ratio factor was likely also in play at UPMUNC, where Georgetown finished second in terms of weighted score. Those four stronger performances were rounded out with awards at four other mid-sized conferences: CMUNNY, SCSY, NYUMUNC, and BarMUN.

Georgetown provided us with the following summary of their MUN season: “The Georgetown Model UN Team was most successful this year in our ability to overcome the challenges our team faced in the 2017 Fall Season and come together as a team this past Spring. Consistently large and with a high proportion of underclassmen at each conference, it was incredible to watch our team come together as a family, work together to evolve our strategies, and ultimately find success at a number of competitive conferences. Over the last few months, we won delegation awards at WorldMUN, VICS, and ChoMUN, and also returned home with strong individual awards at CMUNNY, BarMUN, SCSY, UPMUNC, McMUN, and NYUMUNC by both our older and younger team members. Outside of traveling on the circuit, being able to spend time with our team’s vast membership each week has been a beyond rewarding staple of each of our academic years.”

7. American University

American University made a huge leap forward this year marking their first time in top 10, placing right behind DC neighbors George Washington and Georgetown. This rise is the culmination so far of  sustained hard work over the past three years, consistently rising from Top 75 to #7 this year. The team performed as a top ten team throughout the year, placing within the top ten in terms of weighted score at UPMUNC, McMUN, ChoMUN, VICS, and BarMUN, and at worst finished 11th at HNMUN (among North American teams) and at NCSC. Its best performance though came at the end of the year at NYUMUNC, where it finished first in terms of weighted score and won the Best Small Delegation award. Though American’s rise has been remarkable, that last performance may signal that the team is not done moving up the ranks yet — Georgetown and George Washington are right around the corner.

We reached out to AU and they had this to say: “This year was the most successful year in AUMUN’s history, and it’s not even close. The team added HNMUN to the conference schedule, and we managed to out-do ourselves at pretty much every single conference we went to all of second semester. It’s hard to pick a single highlight. This year we saw several delegates gavel for the first time, at ChoMUN every single person won an award, at NYUMUNC we won Best Small Delegation, HNMUN was an incredibly well run conference, and we also did pretty well there. With an invaluable and dynamic group of seniors moving on after this year, the team felt it was at a crossroads when this season started. Now, there is no doubt that this team will be able to continue building on the past successes, with an incredibly talented group of freshmen already making a name for themselves.”

8. United States Military Academy at West Point

West Point is a mainstay in the top ten of the rankings, and this year it improved to finish at #8 on the list. West Point tied with FIU for being the most well-traveled team on the circuit at 11 conferences, though West Point participated at conferences outside of the circuit too which are not counted in the rankings. West Point primarily fielded a small delegation, and it won Outstanding Small Delegation awards at NYUMUNC and at UCBMUN as well as a Best Small Delegation award at TrojanMUN. The team also contended for delegation awards at SCSY and &MUN, showing that it tends to do better at mid-sized crisis conferences. Nevertheless, they still consistently won awards at all six of the most competitive conferences, HNMUN, UPMUNC, McMUN, ChoMUN, NCSC, and CMUNNY.

Cdt. Lt. Derrick Siebman, Head Delegate of the USMA team, shared the following sentiments: “The West Point Model UN team challenged itself this year, taking on a large new class and an expanded conference schedule at the same time. We had an extraordinary group of young delegates on the team, each playing an important part in our success and offering a depth of experience for the future. An always close-knit team grew even closer with their help. We traveled to more conferences this year than ever before, winning delegation awards on both American coasts and picking up gavels in four countries. As I complete my final year, I am very proud of West Point MUN’s high level of performance and record of achievement. More than that, though, I am proud of having had the opportunity to lead a team of incredible people who are committed to high standards of character, making meaningful contributions, and competing honorably. I could not be more confident in handing leadership of the team over to John Govern, who I know will continue that tradition of excellence both in and out of committee to take West Point MUN to even greater heights.”

9. McGill University

McGill ends the year at #9, which makes this their first time in the top ten of the final rankings and therefore their highest rank ever. There are multiple reasons for this. First, the diplomatic Canadian team had its best showing ever at the most competitive conference on the circuit, HNMUN, by finishing fifth overall among all delegations and behind only UChicago, UPenn, and FIU among North American teams. Second, it took home four delegation awards in the seven conferences where it received awards, with those coming in the form of an Outstanding Large Delegation from VICS and BarMUN, a pair of Best Small Delegation awards from SCSY and NAMUN. Furthermore, it put in a top ten performance at NCSC and won awards at UPMUNC. Part of that success could be attributed to several strong gavel winners on the team, as 40% of McGill’s individual awards were gavels, the highest such ratio among the top twenty ranked teams. McGill also hosted McMUN.

Head Delegate Madeleine Kausel shared her thoughts on the team’s journey this season. “This year has been an incredibly fun and successful journey for our team. From making McGill history with our Fall ranking to experiencing a dramatically positive culture change, I couldn’t be prouder to have led such a hardworking and loving team. We were excited to attend new conferences this year and bring home a record number of delegation awards. With a newly established mentorship program, we saw not only higher levels of integration but also increased competitiveness as a result. It was amazing to watch our freshmen grow with each conference and the goodbyes to our seniors are truly bittersweet. None of our success would have been possible without our partner conferences, SSUNS and McMUN, so our team is eternally grateful for their support. I’m so excited to see everything that our team will accomplish next year under our lovely incoming Head-Delegate, Nicole Arski. McGill once, McGill twice, much love you to you all!”

10. New York University

New York University is back in the top ten of the final rankings after following up on its solid start in the Fall semester with a strong performance during the Spring semester. The team won five delegation awards — the third most delegation awards on the circuit — out of the nine conferences where it received awards. NYU competed as a small delegation, and won the Outstanding Small Delegation award at UPMUNC, McMUN, SCSY, and VICS, as well as a Best Small Delegation award at FCMUN. The team also contended for a small delegation award at ChoMUN, which ironically was their best performance of the year in terms of weighted score. The team also received individual awards at HNMUN, CMUNNY, and BarMUN, and hosted NYUMUNC.

Incoming Head Delegate Areesha Irfan shared this with us about NYU’s season: “NYU has had a wonderful year on the circuit. We started off the year with a team of almost half underclassmen and were able to pull together a wonderful family and team over the course of the year. We were incredibly excited about our delegation awards at MCMUN and VICS in the spring semester and hope to continue this success next year. We could not be more excited and happy about the year NYU has had.. A special thank you to our seniors Luxi, Dom, Jack, and Renda for an incredible few years on the team. We would not have been able to pull this family together without them. And of course a huge thanks to our incredible team, we would not have been able to do this without you all. This NYU MUN family makes traveling worth it.” 

11. University of California, Los Angeles

For the second year in a row, UCLA claims the title of “Best in the West” as the highest-ranked West Coast school on the circuit, coming in at #11. UCLA consistently did well on the West Coast in a year where that was seemingly difficult to do against an influx of East Coast teams, and received the Best Large Delegation at TrojanMUN, Best Large Delegation at AggieMUN, Best Small Delegation at SBIMUN, and contended for a delegation award at UCBMUN. The team did equally well on the East Coast, putting in top ten performances at HNMUN (where it finished ahead of both Berkeley and Claremont McKenna) and at ChoMUN, and winning the Best Small Delegation at CMUNNY. In total, UCLA tied for both the fifth most delegation awards and fifth most individual awards on the circuit this year. They also hosted an increasingly competitive LAMUN to end the year. 

Head Delegates Shankar Chelliah, Rishi Bhargava, and Aditya Deshpande had this to say about their team: “The credit goes entirely to the 40+ members who traveled with us and put their heart and soul into every committee they entered. The team became a family that won together, lost together and definitely partied together. Rishi, Aditya and Shankar are grateful for the opportunity to lead Travel Team this year and would like to thank the team for their passion and resilience and thank the Model UN circuit for several unforgettable memories. MUN at UCLA is looking forward to continuing growing and fostering relationships that the team will cherish for years to come.”

12. Florida State University

The Florida State World Affairs Program had a phenomenal 32nd season on the circuit and has achieved its highest rank in the history of the rankings. What seemed to define this team this year was that is fielded a well-rounded delegation, as the team consistently recorded a mix of gavels, outstandings, honorable mentions, and verbal commendations no matter what type of conference it attended. It did best in small southern crisis conferences, bringing home three Best Large Delegation awards from FLCS, MUNE, and &MUN. The team’s dominance at those conferences allowed them to finish with the fifth most gavels on the circuit this year. FSU also won solid sets of individual awards at larger conferences such as UPMUNC, McMUN, and at mid-sized conferences such as NCSC and VICS. FSU also hosted the Regional Training Conference (RTC) in the Fall. 

Outgoing Team Director and senior, Taylor Zuccarello, had the following to say about the FSU team: “I could not be more proud to have led this delegation through so many conferences and am grateful to have experienced so many successful moments. This team is only going to get bigger and better from here, and I can’t wait to see what they accomplish in the upcoming year. Go Noles!”

13. University of California, Berkeley

UC Berkeley had a very solid year in competition, moving up one spot from last year’s rank of #14 to come in ahead of West Coast rival Claremont McKenna. They kept their presence on the circuit primarily through sheer quantity, winning awards at a total of ten conferences across the country. Berkeley is the highest ranked team that did not receive a delegation award this year. However, they did contend for a delegation award at ChoMUN and put in a top ten performance at HNMUN, and received individual awards at CMUNNY, BarMUN, TrojanMUN, NCSC, UPMUNC, AggieMUN, NYUMUNC, and LAMUN. They also hosted UCBMUN. 

Aric Chang, UCB’s Head Delegate, shared the following insights into the team’s performance: “UC Berkeley has continued to demonstrate its unique sense of tenacity that everyone on the circuit knows and loves by defiantly raising its fist against all odds. With a team that predominantly consisted of new members, UCBMUN has carried on in its annual 8-conference gauntlet. Kicking off the year at CMUNNY, UCBMUN has set the theme of the rest of the year by coming into Committee with some good old-fashioned Berkeley confidence despite getting lost numerous times in the jungle that is NYC and having one of its delegates fall down the stairs at a metro station. UCBMUN continued its regular migration patterns to the east coast by attending NCSC, UPMUNC, HNMUN, and ChoMUN, shaking up Committee with some California love. UCBMUN has also consistently brought sizable delegations to its fellow west coast schools, including TrojanMUN, AggieMUN, and LAMUN. This year, UCBMUN pulled through in hosting its 22nd conference in the historic streets of San Francisco’s Chinatown, and we look forward to welcoming everybody in an even better conference next March. This year, UCBMUN has valiantly embodied the true meaning of Fiat Lux by falling down the metaphorical stairs of life yet sticking the landing, obnoxiously yelling ‘Go Bears!’ after each Awards Ceremony despite the results. UCBMUN voraciously waits for what the next year has in store for us.”

14. Claremont McKenna College

Claremont McKenna kept it competitive with West Coast rivals UCLA and UC Berkeley this year. On the West Coast, it captured the Best Large Delegation at TrojanMUN and contended for delegation awards at LAMUN and UCBMUN. On the East Coast, the team won the Best Small Delegation at NCSC and also put in solid performances at HNMUN and UPMUNC. And although WorldMUN is not included in the rankings, it is notable that Claremont McKenna regularly attends that conference and won the Best Small Delegation there this year ahead of Georgetown, with every team member winning an award at that conference.

Outgoing Head Delegate Kate Ridenour said about her team: “This year marks one of the CMCMUN team’s best performances in recent years, building on our successes in the fall with strong performances this spring. I am so proud of this team and our members’ dedication to collaboration and endless support for one another. A huge shout-out to all of our graduating seniors, you will be dearly missed. Finally, thank you to everyone for making this a phenomenal last year for me and contributing to our incredible team culture. There’s no one else I’d rather lead. #TeamComesFirst.”

15. Emory University

This year marked Emory’s return to glory and return to the Top 15 of the rankings. Emory was one of the most well traveled teams on the circuit, and its rank is due to its members consistently racking up individual awards across nine conferences. The team seemed to do better at mid-sized crisis conferences, as it contended for delegation awards at SCSY, VICS, BarMUN, and UNCMUNC. It also won awards at HNMUN, UPMUNC, ChoMUN, NCSC, and &MUN. Emory also hosted MUNE. 

The outgoing Emory head delegates wanted to highlight their delegates the most: “Through countless hours of hard work, we saw amazing results from our delegates who exceeded expectations at many conferences such as HNMUN, BarMUN, UNCMUNC, and &MUN, especially the underclassmen who continue to be a strong force. Everyone’s dedication to this team is truly inspiring and we could not be more proud to call them the real stars of the show. We are eager to see what the upcoming Head Delegates, Madhumitha Baby Kumar and Mariam Hassoun will have in store for us as we continue to work with such an amazing group.

16. Yale University

Yale continued to attend three of the most competitive conferences. Its best performance was at UPMUNC, where it won the Outstanding Large Delegation award behind only UChicago. The team also competed well at HNMUN, finishing within the top ten among North American teams there, though it did not contend for a delegation award like in previous years. Yale also won awards at CMUNNY and attended WorldMUN, the latter of which is not included in the rankings. Yale also hosted SCSY.

We have this excerpt from the Yale team to share: “Once again, the Model United Nations Team at Yale (MUNTY) focused on quality over quantity. MUNTY was proud of its efforts at CMUNNY, UPMUNC (where it took home the award for Outstanding Small Delegation), HNMUN, and WorldMUN in Panama City. Perhaps more importantly, MUNTY was pleased to welcome its most diverse and talented class of new recruits in recent memory. Next year’s head delegate is sincerely looking forward to seeing where this class will take us.”

17. Boston University

The Boston University MUN team continues to be a consistently ranked team, but this year the traditionally small delegation did it with a surprise performance as a large delegation. This took place at McMUN, where the team won the Outstanding Large Delegation award by ratio in an upset over Georgetown and George Washington. The team’s other notable performances were winning the Outstanding Small Delegation award at NCSC and putting in a top ten performance at ChoMUN. It also took home awards from HNMUN, UPMUNC, and CMUNNY. The strong spring semester may hint at greater things to come for this year. BUIAA also hosted BarMUN. 

Co-head delegates, Zach Thomas and Sara Van Velkinburgh, “could not be prouder of the team and are looking forward to watching the team’s future success under incoming head delegate Danielle Wallner.”

18. Michigan State University

Michigan State improved on its ranking from last year, and had a resurgent spring that allowed it to reclaim its place as the highest ranked Big Ten team on the circuit in a landmark year for Midwestern teams getting ranked. Michigan State’s most impressive performance was at McMUN, where it contended with Georgetown, George Washington, and Florida International for large delegation award status (and placed above the smaller UChicago delegation in terms of weighted score). The team also performed well at ChoMUN, and augmented its resume with successes at UPMUNC, CMUNNY, and MUNE. The latter two are new conferences on their itinerary. 

Michael Downs, President of MSUIRO, had the following to say about the team: “This year has been one of growth and innovation for our delegation. Our large freshman class has been a wonderful asset for us and we are excited to bring them on our fall schedule. We are proud to be a team that is able to bring so many delegates to our conferences and maintain the cooperative, but still competitive reputation that MSU is proud of. Every year, we as a club try are tasked with navigating the level of competitiveness of our organization against the familial environment and reputation for cooperation on the circuit. We think that once again we have struck that balance in the best way possible and are looking forward to the year to come!”

19. Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt’s rank is primarily derived from having a strong Fall semester, where it took home the Best Small Delegation at UPMUNC, came in first in terms of weighted score at UNCMUNC, and won awards at CMUNNY and BarMUN. The team spent the spring semester preparing its newer delegates and took home a few awards at McMUN, NYUMUNC, and ChoMUN. The team plans to launch a new collegiate conference next year.

Vanderbilt representatives had this to share with us: “With a large influx of new members in the spring semester, we spent countless hours doing simulations and rookie prep. This paid off tremendously as we saw a steady increase in the performance of our newer members. While the graduating class boasts some of the best talent that Vanderbilt MUN has seen in recent years, we’re confident that they are leaving the team with wisdom and know-how for years to come. We took an additional year to perfect and finalize our inaugural collegiate conference, and are looking forward to welcome teams down to Nashville this February 2019.”

20. Indiana University

This is Indiana University’s first year in the Top 25, and it comes in swinging by claiming the #20 spot. Traveling to four conferences, Indiana’s team improved throughout the year and finished strong at VICS and ChoMUN. The team started the year with some awards at UPMUNC and NCSC to be within striking distance of the top 25. At VICS, Indiana tied for most gavels won and for most awards won overall, and it likely missed out on the delegation award due to ratio. And at ChoMUN, the team collected numerous awards to put in a top ten performance there. Indiana’s inclusion into the rankings make it a record-breaking three Big Ten teams in the Top 25, and the Midwest region’s best showing ever.

President of IndianaMUN John Chen shared these sentiments about his team: “Over the past year, IndianaMUN has undergone a tremendous period of growth, first debuting among the circuit’s top 30 teams in Fall 2017 and continuing our momentum to win more than double the awards during Spring 2018 than we have had over our entire 5-year history. Thanks to our success in revamping how it carries out Crisis training, to our ever-increasing amount of experienced delegates, we were able to bring home 17 individual awards from ChoMUN and VICS. I, as well as the rest of our Board of Directors, look forward to helping develop our organization’s extremely promising younger cadre of delegates, who played integral roles in our breakout performances this year. By continuing our reworked model of MUN education, to pushing for more new members to go to collegiate conferences, to developing and improving the skills of our older delegates, we hope to establish IndianaMUN as a consistent presence in the top 25 teams on the circuit.” 

21. University of Southern California

After breaking into the Top 25 in the Fall for the first time under past president Zoie Petrakis, the University of Southern California not just maintained but improved on its performance in the spring to make its debut in the Final Top 25 rankings. Their biggest successes were in their home state of California, where they won Outstanding Large Delegation awards at LAMUN and SBIMUN, an Outstanding Small Delegation award at AggieMUN, and awards at UCBMUN. But the team upgraded its East Coast conference schedule significantly, and won awards at UPMUNC, McMUN, and NCSC too. The organization looks to continue increasing its national presence for both its travel team and its conference, TrojanMUN. 

USC’s President Rahul Francis commented on USC’s landmark performance this year: “During the 2017-18 season, the team truly epitomized the USC slogan of “Fight On!” Our explosive growth proved to be an asset to our team’s spirit and performance. We hope to see even more friendly faces from USC’s expanded circuit presence this season at TrojanMUN 2018!”

22. University of Virginia

UVA is now a consistent team in the Top 25 rankings. The team seems top heavy, sometimes walking away from conferences with only gavels like it did at NCSC and UCBMUN. The team also won awards at UPMUNC, ChoMUN, CMUNNY, and &MUN. UVA showed off a work hard/play hard mentality, both actively participating in committee and maintaining a strong social presence outside it. UVA also hosted VICS. 

Outgoing head delegate Devansh Agarwal had this to say about his team: “This past year has been such a successful and fulfilling journey for UVA’s team. With a strong first year class, UVA has steadily improved as a team and hopes to take the next season with a storm. Our team is more than a competitive Model UN team, we’re best friends; and that’s what makes traveling as a team so much fun. Here’s to more successful conferences, growth of the team as a whole, and ever-lasting friendships under the leadership of next year’s Head Delegate, Ishaan Veen. Team, good luck next year. Go Hoos!”

23. Northwestern University

This is Northwestern’s first year in the Top 25, a dramatic rise after having been in Top 75 for the past two years. This also makes it a record-breaking three Big Ten teams in the Top 25, and the Midwest region’s best showing ever. Surprisingly, all of Northwestern’s awards were from outside of the Midwest. The team won awards at UPMUNC in the Fall and NYUMUNC and UCBMUN in the Spring. But the key performance was at HNMUN, where the team competed above expectations against some of the world’s best teams and put in a top ten finish among North American teams there. 

“Northwestern’s Collegiate Model United Nations delegation performed its best yet in its brief time competing on the national circuit. Under the leadership of rising senior Michelle David, the team made a strong showing at the four conferences it attended, netting multiple awards at each for the delegation. By setting the stage as a competitive team at UPMUNC, the Northwestern delegation pushed itself at HNMUN, where the team made a mark for itself as a real up-and-comer. Creating a sense of family on the team was the key to this year’s success, and the members drive to success pushed everyone to improve. As the team continues next year, under the leadership of Director of Competition Isaac Bykhovsky and next year’s head delegates, it will continue to grow as a highly competitive MUN organization. Through the dedication of passionate team members, Northwestern’s delegation is more excited than ever to further strengthen its team.”

24. Northeastern University

Northeastern followed its first year on the Best Delegate Top 25 list with a repeat Top 25 performance to show that last year was no fluke. The team added UPMUNC and FCMUN to its travel schedule to supplement BarMUN, McMUN, and HNMUN. The team consistently won awards regardless if the conference was large or small. One of their best performances came at FCMUN. 

Northeastern also finished first at both the International Model NATO conference and the National University Model Arab League Conference. In addition to the success seen with awards, Northeastern’s Model UN team has been proud to continue to stress the educational value that model simulations can have for delegates, and working to elevate the debate in every room to be more substantive and reflective of the institutions being simulated.

25. The University of Miami

The U clings onto the final spot of Top 25 this year by consistently putting up respectable showings at the most competitive conferences, including UPMUNC and CMUNNY in the Fall and HNMUN and ChoMUN in the spring. The team is going through a series of structural changes to develop their underclassmen, and they will have a chance to shine next year. Miami will be launching a college conference, 305MUN, this coming Fall.

Karthik and Pocho, Head Delegates of the U this year, shared their thoughts on their team’s successes: “In a year that included shortening our MUN calendar due to Hurricane Irma, our Hurricanes fought back to succeed at every conference we attended. This year, our underclassmen proved their skill conference after conference as the team dealt with a very small senior class. Throughout each committee session, Author’s Panel, and Crisis Update, our members continuously strove for (and achieved) success. Beyond competing, we hosted two High-School conferences: MDMUN and MICSUN, both of which had some of their best years yet with record-breaking attendances and experiences for the delegates. Next year, we are ready to take the circuit by storm with a powerful senior class and motivated underclassmen to match! We are also very excited to be hosting 305MUN in October!

Top 50 (Alphabetized)

These are teams that consistently have individual award winners across several conferences, particularly the larger and more competitive ones, and may have even captured a delegation award or two. The five teams closest to cracking into the top 25 were: The Ohio State University, College of William & Mary, University of Toronto, Johns Hopkins University and Columbia University, respectively.

Brown University
Carleton University
Case Western Reserve University
Clark University
College of the Canyons
College of William & Mary
Columbia University
Concordia University
Ithaca College
John Abbott College
Johns Hopkins University
The Ohio State University
Pomona College
Queen’s University
Ryerson University
United States Air Force Academy
University of Alabama
University of California, Davis
University of Florida
University of Georgia
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Michigan
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
University of Toronto
Washington University in St. Louis

Top 75 (Alphabetical Order)

These are teams that occasionally have individual award winners at several conferences or won a few awards at larger conferences.

Bates College
Cornell University
Hamilton College
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Kutztown University
Middlebury College
Miami University of Ohio
Mount Allison University
Mount Holyoke University
Northern Arizona University
Oakland University
Princeton University
Rutgers University
Seton Hall University
Stanford University
State University of New York at Geneseo
Tufts University
Université de Montréal – Faculté de Droit
University Central Florida
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Cruz
University of Connecticut
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Ottawa
Western University

**

Congratulations to all the teams! Good luck to the graduating seniors, and we hope everyone else enjoys their summer break. We’ll see you all on the circuit again next Fall!

The WFUNA International Model United Nations Conference (WIMUN 2019) will be held from Jan 30- Feb 2, 2019 at the United Nations Headquarters and the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City.

The Senior Secretariat is responsible for organizing all logistical, substantive, and communications aspects of the conference, and their goal is to manage all preparation work to ensure that the participants have the best conference experience possible.  Applications for Senior Secretariat are due Friday, June 8th 23:59 EST.

Requirements & Eligibility

• Must be currently enrolled or have recently graduated from university. Current university students are preferred.
• Prior experience with WIMUN is highly preferred. Prior experience with other Model UN conferences or workshops using UN4MUN rules of procedure is also preferred.
• Prior experience staffing Model UN conferences is preferred.
• Must be committed to producing all pre-conference and on-site deliverables in a timely manner.
• Ideal candidates should display professionalism in their work, be very responsive to email throughout the entire conference preparation process, be open to constructive feedback, and have strong communication skills and problem-solving skills.
• Must arrive in New York City on January 28, 2019, and depart on February 3, 2019. Must be available to work from January 29-Feb 2 for training sessions and the conference itself.

Benefits

• Opportunity to work with WFUNA, Best Delegate, and an international Secretariat on a high-profile event held in the heart of New York
• Certificate from the WFUNA Secretary-General
• Six nights of shared accommodations at the Grand Hyatt Hotel from January 28- February 3, 2019.
• $500 travel stipend for Senior Secretariat Members. Stipend is awarded after completion of the conference. Senior Secretariat members must book their travels at their own expense upfront, then will be awarded the travel stipend at the end of the conference.

Applications

Please apply here by Friday, June 8th 23:59 EST. Please review the position descriptions below carefully before applying. Highly qualified candidates will be selected for an interview. Questions about the positions can be directed to the organizing committee: wimun@nullwfuna.org.

Positions Available

Secretary-General

The Secretary-General has both organizational and substantive roles in WIMUN. Organizationally, the Secretary-General manages the Secretariat to ensure that all project deliverables leading up to the conference and during the event are complete, on-time, and of high quality. Substantively, the Secretary-General will directly oversee the preparation work done by the Directors of the Security Council and Economic and Social Council. This position is highly recommended for those with prior experience serving as Secretary-General or in a conference organizing role of another Model UN conference. Specific responsibilities include:

• Attending weekly meetings with WFUNA to keep Secretariat deliverables on track and identify, discuss, and solve any issues preventing completion of deliverables.
• Coordinating meetings, communication, and resources among the Secretariat to ensure that their deliverables are complete, and assuming or delegating responsibilities when they fall behind or are not accounted for.  
• Ensuring that the Secretariat team works well together as a team and resolving interpersonal disputes when they arise
• Raising the profile of the conference among the Model UN community by, including but not limited to, promoting the WIMUN Approach, coordinating outreach and marketing efforts among the WIMUN Secretariat, and representing the conference at different Model UN events.
• Managing the execution of all conference logistics and serving as the face of the conference during the event, including at advisors and head delegate meetings.
• Speaking during the General Assembly Opening Plenary session, the conference’s Opening and Closing Ceremonies, as well as briefing the Security Council if needed.
• Liaising with the President of the General Assembly as required.

Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management

The USG for General Assembly Affairs and Conference Management is responsible for all substantive aspects of the conference including the preparation of Secretaries, and delegates. In addition, he/she oversees the drafting of the Secretary-General Reports for General Assembly committees. Past experience serving as a Secretary or Chair using the WIMUN Approach is highly recommended for this position, and experience with writing Secretary-General Reports and delivering training are two additional traits that would make a strong candidate. Specific responsibilities include:

• Training Secretaries on the WIMUN Approach’s rules of procedure, practices, and scripts, and overseeing the Secretaries’ ability to train the elected Chairs on the same.
• Editing and ensuring that Secretary-General Reports (background guides) written by the Secretaries meet substantive and formatting standards for WIMUN.
• Communicating with the WFUNA Model UN Coordinator and Model UN Program Associate to ensure that all aspects of the conference are accurate to the latest iteration of the WIMUN Approach’s practices and procedures.

President of the General Assembly

The President of the General Assembly is responsible for General Assembly Officials and Elections. The PGA is the primary student leader of the other elected GA Officials and the GA delegates as a whole. The PGA works with the USG of DGACM to oversee the time management and the implementation of the WIMUN Approach in the committees. Past experience serving as a Secretary or Chair using the WIMUN Approach is highly recommended for this position, and experience with delivering training is an additional trait that would make a strong candidate. Specific responsibilities include:

• Managing the elections of General Assembly Officials.
• Training the General Assembly Officials to lead the General Assembly sessions.  
• Overseeing the work of the General Assembly Officials for the duration of the conference.
• Coordinating with the WFUNA Model UN Coordinator and WFUNA Model UN Program Associate to prepare and conduct pre-conference training for all registered delegates.
• Lead the Opening and Closing Plenary in coordination with the Vice-President(s) of the General Assembly.
• Facilitating the resolution of disagreements on proposed amendment between delegates during the conference, as needed.
• Liaising with the Secretary-General as required.

Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Management

The USG for the Department of Management is responsible for all logistical aspects of the conference including facilities, logistics plans, and customer service. Past experience serving as a conference organizer overseeing logistics or conference services is highly recommended for this position, and being detail-oriented and organized are two additional traits that would make a strong candidate. Specific responsibilities include:

• Creating an extensive and detailed logistics plan for all Secretariat members to ensure that the conference runs smoothly for the participants at conference and delegate social venues.
• Organizing the hotel rooming requests and assignments for registered groups and individuals.
• Managing conference check-in, typing and printing of draft resolutions, assisting of participants to their proper meeting rooms, customer service table, and safety.
• Setting up and troubleshooting any hardware and software issues including laptops, projectors, projector screens, microphones, printers, copiers, templates, and mail merges.

Assistant-Secretary-General for the Department of Management

The ASG for the Department of Management is responsible for supplies, including materials and merchandise, and on-site event management. Past experience serving as a conference organizer overseeing logistics or conference services is highly recommended for this position, and being detail-oriented and organized are two additional traits that would make a strong candidate. Specific responsibilities include:

• Managing the ordering of supplies and A/V equipment.
• Creating, printing, packing, and transportation of delegate materials such as placards, name tags, and delegate guides.
• Managing the ordering of conference-specific merchandise such as tote bags and battery packs.
• Managing conference special events such as Social Events and special workshops.

Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information

The USG for Communications and Public Information is responsible for all communications of the conference with registered participants. This role requires daily checking of emails to respond to participant inquiries. Past experience serving as a conference organizer in a marketing, public relations, external relations, or customer service role is highly recommended for this position, and reliable and clear communication skills would make for a strong candidate. Specific responsibilities include:

• Handling the registration process through the registration software including country assignments, add/drops, and invoices.
• Serving as the liaison between the conference and the registered participants.
• Managing the WIMUN email account and replying to participant inquiries on a daily basis.
• Keeping participants informed of all updates and materials needed to prepare for the conference such as webinars, pre-arrival packets, photo release forms, liability waivers, and housing requests through email updates.

Assistant-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information

The ASG for Communications and Public Information is responsible for the creation of media before and during the conference as well as pre-conference marketing. Past experience serving as a conference organizer in a marketing, social media, or media creation role is highly recommended for this position, and reliable and clear communication skills would make for a strong candidate. Specific responsibilities include:

• Keeping participants informed of all updates and materials needed to prepare for the conference such as webinars, pre-arrival packets, photo release forms, liability waivers, and housing requests through social media updates.
• Managing updates to the website and social media.
• Assisting with any WFUNA marketing campaigns to recruit delegates.
• Producing conference photos, a Closing Ceremonies video, and social media content before and during the conference.

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Apply here for a WIMUN 2019 Senior Secretariat Position: https://goo.gl/forms/IlyjQ5R83FEt7xAG3

 When I first attended MUNI, I didn’t expect to stay close to the people I met.  I never would have thought that I would meet some of my best friends through MUN.  Here are some of the reasons why the friendships you make in MUN will last forever.

1.  You’ve been through the stress of committee together

Any delegate knows that being in MUN, while fun, can be extremely stressful at times.  When you don’t know if your resolution is going to be passed, or if your ideas will be shot down, it can be stressful.  Sometimes, the friends you make in MUN have to go against you in committee. However, at the end of the day, you can put the pressure behind you.
2. You have common interests.

When you meet someone in MUN, you know that you have at least one thing in common: MUN!  That establishes common ground between you. From there, it’s easy to find out what else you have in common.  Chances are, if you’re both in MUN, you share more interests than you think.

3. You’re great at working out problems, since you work through them in committee.

One of the best skills delegates have is solving problems.  When we can’t find people to support our resolutions, or when it seems as if we won’t be able to find any allies, we are able to quickly find a solution.  This skill makes MUN friendships almost unbreakable. No matter what conflict comes about, you’re always able to find a solution.

4. You always support each other through hard moments.

Sometimes one of your friends from MUN will have a resolution that goes against yours.  Even though you know you can’t support it, you secretly wish you could. In MUN, one of the best lessons is support, and it doesn’t stop at committee.

5. You’re passionate about what you do.

I have never met a delegate who competes actively and isn’t passionate about MUN.  When you’re friends with your fellow delegates, you know you’ll always have someone who is just as excited about MUN as you are.  When your other friends can’t stand listening to you talk about the next conference you’re attending, you can always count on the friends you meet through MUN to gladly share your excitement.

6. You can always find something to laugh about.

This comes with the stress of committee.  When your resolution doesn’t get passed, or when an obstacle is thrown into your plan, it can be difficult to move past it.  That’s what MUN friends are for. They always know how to make you laugh, especially after a particularly stressful conference.  Besides, who doesn’t love a good Model UN pun?

7. You don’t mind having debates.

MUN friendships can withstand any type of debate.  You’re used to being able to have civilized debates, so small arguments won’t hurt your friendship.  Just like in committee, you’re able to listen to each other and try to see eye-to-eye. Even if you don’t agree, there’s nothing that MUN hasn’t prepared you for.

MUN connects to all of our lives’ aspects: friendships, international awareness, and especially the workplace. Each delegate practices collaborative, communicative, persuasion and research skills through endless hours of speech and debate. Here are just a couple ways MUN prepares you for job interviews.

MUN Teaches You How to Dress Well!

Presenting yourself is a key part to any successful job interview. Looking nice and business-like appeals to your interviewers, especially because it shows how serious you are about the position. For women, MUN dress code is recommended to be a business skirt or slacks, a blouse, and a blazer. Meanwhile, for men, try to wear slacks, a button-down dress shirt, and a blazer. Like in MUN, you wouldn’t want to stand out too much with tacky colors. Of course, the dress code depends on the interview, but at least you’ll know what business formal is because of MUN!

You Learn How to Work Collaboratively in MUN

Bloc building is as essential to job interviews as it is to MUN. In a conference, we collaborate in groups to resolve a global issue with a resolution that combines many different solutions. Likewise, in the workplace, you’ll have to collaborate to solve problems! Employers really want to see that you have this collaborative skill in an interview because they want you to contribute your ideas and encourage others to provide ideas of their own. Talking about your collaboration experiences in Model UN could even give you brownie points in an interview.

Your Research Skills Are Refined Through MUN

Every conference starts out with the dreaded but much needed position paper. Likewise, company projects will often require you to research the problem beforehand. Therefore, your interviewers will be looking for whether you can complete this research and become well-informed on the problem and project!

Your Confidence Improves in MUN

In an interview, employers look for confident people who know what they’re doing. They especially want clear and coherent answers to their questions. In MUN, you’ll be able to improve your confidence, especially in public speaking, because you’ll always have chances to speak in caucuses and the speakers’ list!

As you can see, MUN gives you limitless opportunities to prepare yourself for a job interview. Improving your confidence, dress, collaborative, and research skills, MUN is not only an extracurricular activity for high school and university, but also a way to make yourself a well-rounded candidate in job interviews. However, although MUN provides you these opportunities, it’s ultimately up to you to take those chances now in order to use them later on in your career!

Delegates flock to Model UN conferences from all over the world to debate theoretical solutions to real world issues such as human rights, hunger, women’s rights, access to healthcare, refugee crises and more. But what many MUN participants don’t pay much attention to is the fact that most conferences are taking steps to allow delegates opportunities to partake in real life solutions to issues around the globe.

Through community service projects and charitable donations, delegates are able to channel the energy that they put into the simulation of being a world leader and change-maker, to actually making positive change in many communities.

When going to conferences, charity is often not the first thing that crosses a delegate’s mind. Usually, everyone is so focused on debate and awards to take a second to realize how much charitable work is being done. Secretariats take endless amounts of time and effort to select a charity that they believe to be influential, and take even more time to fund-raise.  Many conferences, such as NAIMUN and CMUNC, have done great jobs raising money. In 2012, for example, NAIMUN raised over 24,o00 dollars for the charity, charity: water. That is a huge feat that definitely deserved recognition!

Another example of a conference that’s gone out of their way for community service is Cornell Model UN Conference. In 2013, they were able to raise enough money to send soccer balls to war-torn countries.

Their secretary general at the time said in an interview, “So many of the conflicts in this world occur because of people having a difference of opinions. Model U.N. helps students learn how other views come about, in a peaceful way,” said their secretary general at the time in an interview.

CMUNC raised money through creative efforts such as partnerships with local restaurants. But despite these great achievements, there is still so much more we can do to incorporate charity into MUN.

If charity is so overlooked in Model UN, how can we, as the model UN community, give it a bigger role at conferences?  Many conferences have already taken this thought into account and, in fact, came up with creative ideas on how to make raising money for different organizations as fun and effective as possible. To feed the competitive spirit of delegates, many conferences have created competitions between committees to see who can raise the most money. Other conferences have hosted in-committee auctions, sold candy grams, raffle tickets, and allowed the committee who raised the most money to pie members of the secretariat in the face. These tactics are fun ways to bond with committee members and raise money all at the same time.

Other ideas for how conferences can raise even more money is to perhaps give recognition to schools who raise the most money prior to the conference, to donate a portion of the money made from merchandise sales, and include a mandatory donation as part of conference fees. Secretariats can even organize hands-on community service projects at some point during the conference to allow delegates to get connected with their communities and put their humanitarian skills to action!

Overall, the Model UN community has done a great job so far at incorporating community service and charity into conferences, and the efforts of secretariats and delegates around the world deserve  so much more recognition. As Model UN becomes a more popular activity we should connect it more to real humanitarian and charitable work. This, and not competition, is the true spirit of MUN.

Keep doing what you’re doing to not only simulate making the world a better place, but actually doing it!

ISM students spread the word for BKB Charity at the National Model United Nations (NMUN) in New York.

Top 150 Model UN teams in North America for 2017-2018 included (clockwise from top left): Langley High School, The Dalton School, McLean High School, and Mira Costa High School

As the school year has come to a close and summer is in full swing, we want to review the Top 150 High School Model UN Teams that participated at North American Model United Nations conferences in the 2017-2018 school year. Through hard work across the most advanced Model UN conferences, these schools have demonstrated that they are some of the best Model UN teams in the world!

Methodology and Disclaimer

Recognition as one of the Top 150 North American Model UN teams is based solely on travel team performance at the most advanced conferences held in the United States and Canada during the 2017-2018 school year. This list does not capture other definitions of success, such as conference organizing or civic engagement, and therefore is not a list of the Top 150 Model UN programs in North America — many programs focus on other aspects of learning in Model UN beyond just winning awards at MUN conferences.

The list of advanced conferences consists of multi-day conferences that are typically attended by at least 500 delegates and give out school or individual awards. Teams that received the top four school delegation awards (e.g. Best Large, Outstanding Large, Best Small, Outstanding Small) at these conferences made the list. Results from conferences that gave out different types of delegation awards (e.g. Award of Distinction, Best Medium, etc.) were converted at Best Delegate’s discretion for approximation to top four. Teams that performed well at the most advanced conferences (those with 1,500+ delegates) were also included if their weighted awards score was higher than the Best Small Delegation award winner’s weighted score or if the conference only gave out individual awards.  

We can only use data that is provided to us by conferences. We reached out to a list of 60 conferences that we considered to be at the most advanced level in North America, and we received or found data for 46 of them. Conferences that submitted full or partial awards data or had publicly available delegation award winners included: AmeriMUNC, AMUN, BMUN, BosMUN, BruinMUN, CIMUN, CMUNC, CMUNCE, CTMUN, DartMUN, EagleMUNC, GatorMUN, GCIMUN, GTMUN, HAMUN, HMUN, ILMUNC, Indiana MUNC, JHUMUNC, LAIMUN, McKenna MUN, MITMUNC, MSUMUN, MUN at Illinois, MUNSA, MUNUC, NAIMUN, NHSMUN, NUMUN, ODUMUNC, PMUNC, RUMUN, SCMUN, SCVMUN, SMUNC, SSUNS, Surf City MUN, SWFLMUN, TritonMUN, UTMUN, VUMUN, WAMUNC, WIMUN, WMHSMUN, WUMUNS, and YMUN. Special thanks go to Media Editor Elaine Miao and Media Team Editor-in-Chief Richard Zhao for their extremely hard work in sourcing awards data. Thank you to Best Delegate Co-Founder Kevin Felix Chan for executing the data tabulation.

If your school is not listed in the Top 150 but won a delegation award during the 2017-2018 school year at a North American conference of 500+ delegates, feel free to email us a photo of your delegation award and we can retroactively add you to this list if the award qualifies for the criteria above. All photos, questions, and comments should be sent to conna@nullbestdelegate.com.

The list may be updated to include more than 150 teams as we can add missing data after the article has been published but will not removed schools listed from the initial published list. All decisions regarding the list are final.

The Top 150 Model UN Teams in North America

The list of Top 150 Model UN Teams in North America is sorted into seven geographic regions for easier viewing: Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, South, West, Canada, and International. We also recognized the Top 25 and Top 50 Model UN teams within the overall Top 150 list due to their exceptional performances at the most advanced conferences. All lists are in alphabetical order. 

Top 150: Northeast Region

The Northeast Region consists of the top performing schools from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont that participated in our list of advanced conferences in the US and Canada.

All-American MUN (MA)
Beaver Country Day School (MA)
Brookline High School (MA)
Burr & Burton Academy (VT)
Hillcrest High School (NY)
Horace Mann School (NY)
Kennebunk High School (ME)
Lexington High School (MA)
Loomis Chaffee School (CT)
Manlius Pebble Hill School (NY)
Milton Academy (MA)
Oceanside High School (NY)
Phillips Academy Andover (MA)
Phillips Exeter Academy (NH)
Red Hook High School (NY)
Sharon High School (MA)
St. John’s High School (MA)
St. Paul’s School (NH)
The Beacon School (NY)
The Bronx High School of Science (NY)
The Commonwealth School (MA)
The Dalton School (NY)
The Hotchkiss School (CT)
The Masters School (NY)
The Spence School (NY)
Thomas A. Edison CTE High School (NY)
United Nations International School (NY)
Woodstock Academy (CT)

Top 150: Mid-Atlantic Region

The Mid-Atlantic Region consists of the top performing schools from Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington DC, and West Virginia that participated in our list of advanced conferences in the US and Canada.

Bayonne High School (NJ)
Bergen County Academies (NJ)
Cape Henry Collegiate (VA)
East Brunswick High School (NJ)
George C. Marshall High School (VA)
Georgetown Day School (DC)
HB Woodlawn High School (VA)
Henrico High School (VA)
J.P. Stevens High School (NJ)
Langley High School (VA)
McLean High School (VA)
Osbourn High School (VA)
Poolsville High School (MD)
Princeton Day School (NJ)
Princeton High School (NJ)
Radnor High School (PA)
School Without Walls (DC)
St. Albans School (DC)
Tabb High School (VA)
The Lawrenceville School (NJ)
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology (VA)
West Windsor Plainsboro High School North (NJ)
West Windsor Plainsboro High School South (NJ)
Wootton High School (MD)

Top 150: South Region

The South Region consists of the top performing schools from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas that participated in our list of advanced conferences in the US and Canada.

American Heritage School Plantation (FL)
Archimedean Upper Conservatory (FL)
Belen Jesuit High School (FL)
Bishop Verot Catholic High School (FL)
Canterbury School (FL)
Cape Coral High School (FL)
Centennial High School (GA)
Cypress Bay High School (FL)
Glynn Academy (GA)
Gulf Coast High School (FL)
Gulliver Preparatory (FL)
Hilton Head Preparatory (SC)
Lake Travis High School (TX)
Liberal Arts and Sciences Academy (TX)
Meridian World School (TX)
Oxbridge Academy (FL)
Pine View School (FL)
Port Charlotte High School (FL)
Pulaski Academy (AR)
Richland Northeast High School (SC)
The Village School (TX)
West Broward High School (FL)
Westlake High School (TX)

Top 150: Midwest Region

The Midwest Region consists of the top performing schools from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin that participated in our list of advanced conferences in the US and Canada.

Adlai E. Stevenson High School (IL)
Beachwood High School (OH)
Bloomfield Hills High School (MI)
Carl Sandburg High School (IL)
Cincinnati Country Day (OH)
Collegiate Academy (OH)
Culver Academies (IN)
Deerfield High School (IL)
Detroit Country Day School (MI)
Edina High School (MN)
Glenbrook North High School (IL)
Glenbrook South High School (IL)
Highland Park High School (IL)
Liberty North High School (MO)
Lyons Township High School (IL)
Miami Valley School (OH)
Middleton High School (WI)
Rochelle Zell Jewish High School (IL)
Solon High School (OH)
St. Ignatius College Prep (IL)
St. Vincent-St. Mary High School (OH)
University of Chicago Lab School (IL)
University of Illinois Laboratory High School (IL)
Walter Payton College Prep High School (IL)
William Fremd High School (IL)
Wyoming High School (OH)
Zionsville Community High School (IN)

Top 150: West Region

The West Region consists of the top performing schools from Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming that participated in our list of advanced conferences in the US and Canada.

Calabasas High School (CA)
California High School (San Ramon, CA)
Cerritos High School (CA)
Claremont High School (CA)
Edison High School (Huntington Beach, CA)
El Camino High School (CA)
Foothill High School (Pleasanton, CA)
Gahr High School (CA)
Granada Hills Charter High School (CA)
Huntington Beach High School (CA)
La Jolla Country Day School (CA)
Laguna Beach High School (CA)
Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies (CA)
Marymount High School (CA)
Mira Costa High School (CA)
Monta Vista High School (CA)
Mountain View High School (Mesa, AZ)
New West Charter High School (CA)
OC MUN Club (CA)
Pacific Ridge High School (CA)
Palos Verdes Peninsula High School (CA)
Santa Margarita Catholic High School (CA)
Santa Teresa High School (CA)
The Harker School (CA)
Torrey Pines High School (CA)
University High School (Irvine, CA)
Woodside Priory School (CA)

Top 150: Canada

The Canada list consists of top performing schools from Canada that participated in our list of advanced conferences in the US and Canada. The BC region is notably missing since awards data was not available for VMUN or CAHSMUN. 

Crescent School (ON)
John Abbott College (QC)
Marianopolis College (QC)
Selwyn House School (QC)
Sir Winston Churchill High School (AB)
The Study (QC)
University of Toronto School (ON)
Upper Canada College (ON)
Ursula Franklin Academy (ON)
Western Canada High School (AB)

Top 150: International

The International Schools list consists of top performing schools from outside of the US and Canada that participated in our list of advanced conferences in the US and Canada. The list does not reflect the schools’ performances at conferences that took place outside of North America, nor does it represent a list of all top international schools since the vast majority of them attend conferences held outside the US and Canada. 

Academia Merici (Venezuela)
Buckswood International School Tbilisi (Georgia)
Colegio Cumbres (Colombia)
Colegio Episcopal de Panama (Panama)
Colegio Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Peru)
Colegio Integral el Avila (Venezuela)
Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola, Caracas (Venezuela)
Ecole Jeannine Manuel (France)
Gynamsium Bondenwald (Germany)
Institution Notre-Dame de Sainte-Croix (France)
Instituto Andes (Venezuela)
Instituto Kipling Morelia (Mexico)
Jayshree Periwal International School (India)
Karachi Grammar School (Pakistan)
Lycée Franco-Libanais Nahr Ibrahim (Lebanon)
Markham College (Peru)
Northlands School (Argentina)
St. George’s British International School (Italy)
The Cathedral and John Connon School (India)
United Schools of Peru (Peru)
USFQ (Ecuador)

Top 25 Overall

The Top 25 Overall recognizes teams with the highest level of performance at the most advanced conferences. The average team on this list won three Best Large or Outstanding Large delegation awards at the 46 advanced conferences on our list. The minimum level of qualification this year was winning the Best Large Delegation award or two Small Delegation awards at the most advanced conferences (1,500+ delegates). All Top 25 teams are also included in the Top 150 and are listed in alphabetical order.

Adlai E. Stevenson High School (IL)
American Heritage School Plantation (FL)
Bergen County Academies (NJ)
Cerritos High School (CA)
Glenbrook South High School (IL)
Gulf Coast High School (FL)
Horace Mann School (NY)
Huntington Beach High School (CA)
J.P. Stevens High School (NJ)
Langley High School (VA)
Loomis Chaffee School (CT)
McLean High School (VA)
Mira Costa High School (CA)
Princeton Day School (NJ)
St. Ignatius College Prep (IL)
The Beacon School (NY)
The Dalton School (NY)
The Village School (TX)
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology (VA)
University of Chicago Lab School (IL)
Upper Canada College (ON, Canada)
West Windsor Plainsboro High School North (NJ)
West Windsor Plainsboro High School South (NJ)
Woodstock Academy (CT)
Wootton High School (MD)

Top 50 Overall

The Top 50 Overall recognizes teams with the next highest level of performance at the most advanced conferences. The minimum level of qualification this year was winning the Outstanding Large Delegation award or Best Small Delegation award or placing within the top four teams in weighted score at the most advanced conferences (1,500+ delegates). We then selected a few schools that won multiple delegation awards at the next largest of the 46 advanced conferences. All Top 50 teams are also included in the Top 150 and are listed in alphabetical order.

All-American MUN (MA)
Bayonne High School (NJ)
Beaver Country Day School (MA)
Calabasas High School (CA)
Carl Sandburg High School (IL)
Colegio Integral el Avila (Venezuela)
Deerfield High School (IL)
Ecole Jeannine Manuel (France)
George C. Marshall High School (VA)
Granada Hills Charter High School (CA)
Highland Park High School (IL)
Hillcrest High School (NY)
Instituto Andes (Venezuela)
Monta Vista High School (CA)
OC MUN Club (CA)
Pine View School (FL)
Richland Northeast High School (SC)
Rochelle Zell Jewish High School (IL)
Santa Margarita Catholic High School (CA)
Santa Teresa High School (CA)
St. Vincent-St. Mary High School (OH)
The Cathedral and John Connon School (India)
The Harker School (CA)
United Schools of Peru (Peru)
University High School (Irvine, CA)

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Congratulations to all the teams on the list! We hope everyone has a great summer break and we look forward to seeing all the teams in the 2018-2019 school year! 

Students use their voices to speak out on gun violence in schools with the March For Our Lives movement.

By April 20, 2018, CNN found that there had already been 20 school shootings in the United States that resulted in casualties.  In 2017, the National Human Trafficking Hotline reported a thirteen percent increase in cases, according to Polaris. The world is currently faced with several fatal issues that are generally avoided as topics for discussion.  Today, many are taught to not voice their opinions, in order to avoid tension or debate. However, the issues that plague our world can only be solved through discussion.

Model United Nations promotes the discussion of topics that can be considered taboo or inappropriate for conversation.  In a time when students are often told not to discuss political or social issues in school, MUN allows students to participate in discussions about the problems within today’s society. “It’s important to voice your opinions, and if people are willing to have a peaceful discussion about what they think is right and wrong, then that’s fine,” said high school student Ivan Vasilyev of Culver City, California.

Some issues that have been discussed at Model UN conferences include forced labor, illicit arms trade, sustainable energy, and religious intolerance.  Typically, students are unable to discuss topics like these with their peers, for fear of being ostracized or creating conflict. However, MUN creates a forum for these issues to be discussed.  Though students may have to fight for policies against their own beliefs during committee, MUN allows for them to form and develop their opinions by presenting all sides to an issue.

Gabby Thompson, a high school student from Holmdel, New Jersey. believes the discussion of differing views on social issues is important to encourage in schools. “I believe that listening to other people’s opinions is vital in becoming a considerate and non-judgemental person,” Thompson said. At a time when school shootings, hate crimes, and acts of mass violence occur on a monthly basis, students should be encouraged to listen to all opinions, rather than ignore them.  MUN allows students to discuss the effects of and solutions to the political and social issues that are prevalent in today’s world.

“If we don’t talk about it, we are confining ourselves to only think about our opinion and not others’, therefore limiting ourselves and living in our own bubble,” Thompson said.

Joining MUN can be stressful and nerve-wracking. Every new delegate has concerns about what their first committee will be like, but there are ways to overcome these fears. Here are a few fears new delegates often have and some tips to help you overcome them:

“What if I mess up?”

When I first started MUN, my biggest fear was that I was going to mess up and embarrass myself in front of everyone. The best way to overcome this fear is to practice and prepare. Always have an idea of what you’re going to say, whether you write it out or have it in your head. Practice speaking whenever you can, even if it’s just in front of the mirror.

There’s no way to absolutely prevent tripping over your words or forgetting what you want to say, but that’s okay. Everyone messes up at some point. You just have to come back stronger the next time.

“What happens if my resolution doesn’t pass?”

Not every resolution has to pass. Not every resolution will pass. It may be disappointing, but that’s only part of MUN. Chances are, you don’t do MUN because you want to pass a resolution. You do it because you love it! Even if your resolution doesn’t pass, all the friends you make and the fun you have make MUN an amazing experience.

“Everyone is going to be so much better than I am!”

Everyone fears this at some point, even when they have been partaking in MUN for years. It can be stressful to be surrounded by seasoned delegates who dedicate most of their time to MUN, but, again, you aren’t there to be the smartest one in the room. Have fun! Don’t worry about who is better than who. Learn to enjoy the process, the teamwork, and even the competitive spirit.

“I don’t have enough experience.”

I had this exact fear when I did MUN for the first time. I knew nothing about MUN, my school didn’t have an MUN team, and I had no prior experience. At some point, every delegate faces a similar predicament.

Find others who have done MUN before, and talk to them about it. I know the thing that helped me before my first committee was talking to one of my friends, who had been part of MUN for years. Over time, you’ll realize that it is easy to catch on in MUN, as long as you pay attention.

“What if I don’t like it?”

Not everyone is going to love MUN, and that’s fine. However, every delegate I spoken to that has stuck with MUN doesn’t do it for their resume or their college applications. They do it because it’s a meaningful experience in many ways.

MUN can increase your confidence, introduce you to new people and take you all over the world. You can experience new cultures and meet people from every city in every state, while learning about modern issues and developing ways to solve them. Overall, MUN is an amazing experience. Don’t let your fears get in the way!

This guest article was written and submitted by Brian Johnson, a rising senior and the President of the MUN program at Robbinsville High School in Robbinsville, New Jersey.

Everything we do in our lives is shaped by our own perspectives. Whether it be about big vs. small government, gun control, immigration, or just the best pizza topping, we all create bubbles for ourselves. They house our thoughts: why one idea is better than the other, and vice versa. Being the things that shape our entire lives, having your own ideas isn’t inherently a bad thing for Model UN. In fact, when it comes to representing a country that aligns with your beliefs, it can even be a good thing: after all, if you have thoughts on a subject, you’re probably well versed with facts and figures to back them. But what about when you find yourself with a country that doesn’t share those beliefs?

It wasn’t that long ago that a friend of mine was representing the Republic of Iraq. Placed into the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the intention of this specialized committee was to solve gender equality and workers’ rights; both of which are hot topics as of late for the republic, especially the former of the two. Setting aside personal views, the fact is that Iraq has had a rough ride over the last few decades: with militant Islamist groups entering the area, and in 2004, Resolution 137 proclaiming sharia law as the determinant of civil justice. In short: the actions of Iraq in recent years did not align with the beliefs of my friend and fellow delegate.

This devastated him and ended up preventing his success.

The entire time out of committee, my friend was stressed over having to defend his country’s alien views. Most of us spend our time arguing for human rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness by all; regardless of color or creed. Therefore, when a country is seen to violate those rights, it’s difficult to find a happy-medium. Though researched and learned on Iraq’s views, articulating a convincing argument in support of those views failed. Bloc efforts fell through when he was unable to compromise with other, Western powers. In the end, he was left to meekly shuffle into the crowd: occasionally voting on motions, but making no headway. Of course, his story isn’t his alone, and I’ve known plenty of delegates (perhaps even you, dear reader) to have felt this pain of personal views conflicting with country policy.

So, how do we fight it?

First is to understand exactly what you’re arguing. Though there are many human rights violatiors in human rights committees or petroleum powerhouses in global warming committees, this doesn’t mean your views are necessarily polarized. In effect, these real delegations have to come up with real solutions too, and it comes with respect for their own values. Therefore, try to grasp exactly where on the spectrum your policies lie. A country may preach secularism while practicing pious extremism, and the other way around. Know your country!

Then, don’t just up and forget your own side: incorporate those elements as a counter! This is a tool called “preliminary refutation”, and all that does is give a fancy word to coming up with a counter argument to a point before your opponent can even make it. This is a powerful tool for any debate, but in the case of country policy conflict, it’s especially useful because you already have evidence against it. After all, you’ve probably been arguing for/against a side you’re now on the opposite end of for a while. This is easier said than done, and try not to be too extreme. But when embodying your country, don’t forget that passion counts too.

Third and finally, the best tip is to find friends. Again, this may sound easier said than done, but a lot of times it’s quite simple. One way is using proximity: Venezuela and Colombia are likely to have similar policies against cartels because of their similar experiences. Middle Eastern countries are often in good company too, sharing a common religion and sharia law justice system to support policies in that favor. Further underlying problems can beset a delegate if they can’t find support, but when it comes to policy/perspective confliction, look for similar views, even if they’re just slightly the same.

It’s not easy, but remember that this is a key skill that many judges will look toward when deciding winners. Chairs that see Saudi Arabia preaching for an immediate ban on oils will only disregard them completely. Remember to research, refute, and relate: they’re not just useful for this topic, but for any part of Model UN.

Right after registering for a Model UN conference, it feels like it would be years until the competition weekend comes up. Time goes from telling your team 2 more months to 1 more month and then 1 more week. As a high school student taking work heavy classes and participating in other extracurricular activities, there is little time to study throughout those 2 months since many activities pop up. Sometimes it gets to the point where we forget about conference season  (Yes, I’m guilty as charged). “Well I got assigned an insignificant country/role so I can just make up a position in no time!” Wrong. Even if you believe you have researched everything and practiced enough times, there is still a lot of time and items on your agenda to be fully prepared.

Doral Academy’s MUN team prepping for GatorMUN XV

1. Meet more than once, or even twice, every week with your conference delegation: The more times you practice, the better. You become more aware of the smallest mistakes you make and you wouldn’t be as nervous the day of since you already know the main points you want to talk about in either opening speeches or small mod speeches. Meeting often is also an opportunity for team bonding since you get to see each member grow as a delegate and give feedback to help other delegates get a chance like you to place.

2. Practice debating topics from each committee your delegation has a spot in: It’s a bit redundant to debate about topics that you will not gain any knowledge from or will not serve useful to prepare for the big day. It is important to refine speaking skills but that time could be used to study with a different approach. If you are a hands-on learner, using this technique helps you predict the flow of debate. You can already expect what motions are going to pass, solutions to be proposed, and sometimes topic going to be passed (if your committee offers 2 topic). Imagine other team mates as types of delegates you will face the day of and treat them without bias.

3. Decide on the topic you are going to vote for: This is sort of a given but with a lot of time spent evenly researching on both, you forget that in the end you will most likely only speak about one topic. Pick the one you find has more substantial information, longer history that affects a greater populace, and/or the one where you find your argument to be much stronger.

4. Finalize your plans: EVERY delegate should have some sort of plan before walking into the room. Here’s a checklist for crisis and GA committees:

CRISIS:

An example of a crisis arc

• More than one crisis arc – If your main plan (a.k.a crisis arc) fails, you need something to fall back on. Improvising almost never works and the crisis staff knows when you’re becoming vulnerable.
• Ideas for crisis notes – You need to make sure your character gains more power “under the table”. You can be the greatest speaker and constantly on directives, but crisis notes are just as important because crisis staff wants to see how well rounded you are.
• Arc timeline (divided into times for each day, Saturday being the most productive)

GENERAL ASSEMBLY:

• List of solutions (do NOT go in with prewritten clauses, that’s cheating and can get you into major trouble)
• Funding ideas – Many people have the same idea so go against the usual and spend time thinking of new ways or ask your team for any suggestions.
• Opening speeches – It is the most important speech as it is the one where you sell yourself to other countries. Many people remember you for the rest of the weekend for the first speech you give. Without this, your chances of getting connections in the committee are slim.

Waiting for the conference can be both exhilarating and nerve-wracking. As long as you feel confident in the work you’ve put in, you should be fine. If you think cramming is the way to go, no one is going to stop you but it is not the attitude a best delegate has. Be prepared for anything, expect the unexpected and of course, have fun.

This guest article was written and submitted by Brian Johnson, a rising senior and the President of the MUN program at Robbinsville High School in Robbinsville, New Jersey. 

So. You didn’t win best delegate.

It’s not a good feeling, that’s the truth of it. For many of you, a lot of emotions are probably circulating in your head: confusion, anger, betrayal. Some of you may be yelling “How did that kid with the polka-dot bowtie manage to pull it off?!” in your head (not out loud, I’d hope). While you walked out with – what is to you – a measly certificate printed with “Distinguished Delegate” on yellowed card stock, the guy you saw picking his nose two seats away runs up to grab the ceremonial gavel; have his picture taken; and is showered with “three cheers” by his peers for being “Best Delegate”.

It stings, I know; I was in your shoes once too. A little less than 2 years ago during my first conference, I felt that I could almost taste victory. As a newcomer handling the Caucasian republic of Georgia, I had somehow managed to pull together a number of bickering states into a coherent group. Our resolution passed, I’d made my mark, and I felt assured to win. But sitting there oh-so-confident, I was blindsided as my arch-rival Russia stepped up to the stage before me. Impatiently I waited, but as “Best Delegate” was crowned to Latvia (a reasonable choice, I accede) every unbearable emotion bubbled to the surface. Walking out, my partners could tell how stung I felt and showered me with “at least”s and all other reassurances.

It hurt for a little while. To tell you the truth I didn’t dwell on it too much, but it did gnaw like a rabid dog at the back of my head for a while. Finally, the pressure passed; I felt confident to step back up to plate and try again. I went on to rise from title to title, finally achieving “Best Delegate” in March of this year. Now, that burden of failure prodded at me for a while, but when I let it go, it was for an important and life changing reason. You want to know what that was?

I realized how by letting it linger, this failure would only pave the way for more failure.

Really, I do mean it. I know it sounds a bit cliché, but without realizing it, that failure bogged me down from performing at my peak. We all do this from time to time, and it’s alright to dwell a bit, but allow me to analogize. Picture a boxing match: sure, the preparation you’ve put into winning, your advantages over your opponent does make a difference. But never- not for a second- overlook your perspective. For those of you who have had the pleasure of seeing the 2005 classic Cinderella Man (SPOILER): It wasn’t just a lucky shot that kept Braddock from losing to a lucky shot. No, it was his desire to win and to press on. When it comes to Model UN, this advice applies for two reasons.

First, if you’re coming into MUN for success, this is rather linear, self-evident advice. Whether it’s to appease your parents, your club, or yourself, losing can be hard to accept, and it is a further detriment when you keep losing. Psychological studies have shown that people with a high sense of self-efficacy (not self-esteem, but one’s feeling to achieve goals or not) are more likely to succeed compared to those in the same situation with low self-efficacy. Apply this to yourself so you can push aside this one, two, or short stretch of “failures”. Instead, learn from it, and get back to reaching the top.

If Model UN is more about the educational experience, though, this applies even more. Failure doesn’t just keep us from success; it can keep us from focusing on much of the world around us. For some people, MUN is a means to find out about global issues, broaden their cultural horizons, or improve their skills. It can even just be a way to socialize and to build memories. Allowing that bubble of loss to hover over you just fogs the way to accomplishing whatever your alternate goals are.

Carmine Gallo writes in his book The Storyteller’s Secret: “Inspiring leaders, successful people, have to rewrite internal narratives to find great success.” The first thing I can tell you is that it isn’t failure to win “Best Position Paper” or “Most Improved.” Those people that say they’re ‘complimentary awards’ are only half right. That award is a true award, and complimentary only goes as far as Little League Soccer (sorry Jeremy from 2nd grade, 18th place isn’t really a big deal). Only 3-6 people win those awards per committee, so take pride in what you win. As for what your future holds, don’t let your failed expectations prevent you from accomplishing your dreams. The alternative is letting is fester and never winning again. Because I’ll tell you one last cliché bit:

In some way, there’s always next time.