The Union College Model United Nations Team received three awards at the National Model United Nations conference in New York City recently, capping months of hard work, academic focus and passion for world events.
“Model United Nations means everything to me. It’s an amazing experience,” said Lea Tessitore ’12, who participated for her second year. “The conference changes the way you think about politics, and it gives you more respect for the system,” she noted. “Simulating the real process makes you realize how difficult it is to pass resolutions that require a consensus among nations.”
More than 5,000 students from some 40 countries and 340 schools took part in the event, which encourages young people to become responsible global citizens who can help in understanding the complexities of international relations and today’s interconnected world.
“Union has quickly established itself as one of the more prepared and capable delegations,” said Visiting Professor of Political Science Darius Watson, the team’s advisor for the past three years. “We have made some great strides in a relatively short time.”
The largest collegiate political simulation in the world, the conference includes four days of intense debates during which students lobby and delegate for states they have been studying and researching for months.
This year, the Union team represented the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The students came away with a Distinguished Delegation Award, and for the second straight year, also received an Outstanding Position Papers Award, “the only award that directly speaks to the quality of work the students produce in the class,” Watson said.
In addition, Andrew Churchill ’11 and Katrina Neiley ’10 were voted by their peers in the NATO committee as Outstanding Delegates.
Bradley Wilhelm ’10 spoke highly of the rigorous academic preparation beforehand in Watson's Model UN class.
“I learned how to speak powerfully to, work successfully with and eventually how to set the tone and agenda for a room full of intelligent and outspoken college students from around the globe," Wilhelm said.
Other team members include Cam Berjoan ’10, Maeghan Buckley ’11, Rachael Carson ’10, Austin Cheng '11, Patrick Donoghue '10, Alexandra Dumitrescu '10, Marissa Gordon '11, Kelsey MacElroy '12, Kate MacEwan '11, Carly Mand '10, Rachel Mayer '12, Keerti Murari '11, Kate Murphy '10, Richard Paikoff '10 and Ryan Vineyard '12.