From March 13 to 16, Granada Hills Charter (GHC)’s Model United Nations (MUN) team traveled to New York to compete in the National High School Model United Nations (NHSMUN) competition. As a team, they received awards such as first place in speaking and second place in research overall. Numerous delegates also won individual awards.
For this competition, a total of 21 students were selected out of 112 based on their leadership abilities, speaking skills, and evaluation of overall performances. Out of these 21 students, a total of 14 students were selected for repertoire. A repertoire is the best speakers from each committee that ranges from 70-200 people. These students gave 45 second speeches during the closing ceremony.
Some of the topics that these delegates discussed were religious freedom in civic spaces, utilization of AI, protecting seals, and even about the first imperial cabinet of Japan.
Nearly all these students placed first or second in their committee.
MUN is an activity in which students take on the roles of United Nations delegates to discuss real life events and find solutions to critical problems. Competitions start off with an opening statement from a delegates discussing their stance.
Then, they move on to moderated caucuses where some delegates are selected to discuss specific areas within the broader issue. Finally, they move into unmoderated caucuses where they freely engage with other delegates to form blocs where papers are created to provide the solutions to these issues at hand.
To prepare for the competition, these students practiced three days a week from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. after school. During these practices, these students ran through speaking drills, unmoderated caucus practice, and more.
They also researched relevant topics surrounding their assigned countries to write papers and gave presentations to become experts in their topic.
Beyond just competing, NHSMUN was also filled with many exciting activities. The students were able to explore Times Square, eat a lot of underground food, visit Central Park, and more. Finally, they were able to meet former Vice President Kamala Harris. Senior Kamilah Snyder even had the opportunity to take a picture with her.
“NHSMUN truly is an unprecedented opportunity,” senior and captain Ellen Lee said. “It not only tests your limits on the national level with committees as large as 200 people, but also lets you bond with strangers across the country and members on the team alike in the big apple.”