GHS Model UN crushes first conference at Carthage College

Model UN competed at their first conference at Carthage College last Friday and the students did well.

Prior to the conference students prepared by doing research on their country’s political, economic, and cultural backgrounds, and when they feel like they have enough information, they write position papers that tackle real-world issues.

At the conference students from different school are separated into groups based on their assigned committee, which they are given prior to the conference. Each committee has their own topic to discuss, and during the conference students talk to find solutions to the world issue they were assigned based on their country. At the end of the conference students are able to earn awards for their position papers, or their performance during the conference.

This year seniors Samantha Henschel, Neil Singh, Blair Remington,  and juniors Angeline Terry, Madison Taychert, and Araceli Mendoza all won awards for their efforts.      

This year, adviser Benjamin Hubing was very pleased with the work done by students at the conference.

“I was very impressed with this year’s team. We had 39 students, which is a record number. We had six students who won awards for their position papers and performance as a delegate,” Hubing said.  “Even more than that though, the level of engagement of our team was better than any year I have seen. Greendale students were writing resolutions, caucusing with other students, and working collaboratively to reach consensus on important global issues.”

Model UN is fun for most people, but it has its challenges as well.

“The most challenging part is finding a solution to a problem that can get most countries (people) on board. It’s difficult to compromise when not all countries share the same governmental systems and political problems,” Henschel said.

The challenges benefit the students who participate by giving them a chance to help with current real world situations.

“I benefit from Model UN by getting a better understanding of the global community,” Terry said.

Model UN is a club anyone can join, and has something to offer to everyone who does.

“Model UN gave me an opportunity to step out of my comfort zone,” Mendoza said. “I wasn’t confident at the start of the conference, but by the end of the day I had won an award on my position paper which I had spent a lot of time worrying about.”