Jefferson Model United Nations triumphs at conference

Members+of+the+Model+United+Nations+club+after+receiving+the+Secretary-Generals+award+for+Best+Large+Delegation.

Members of the Model United Nations club after receiving the Secretary-General’s award for Best Large Delegation.

Yena Seo

Delegates from all over the Northern Virginia area gathered in Chantilly, Va. for the ninth annual Chantilly High School Model United Nations Conference (CHMUN), hosted at Chantilly High School on Jan. 10-11.

The conference was the second of the year for the Jefferson Model United Nations club (TJMUN), and delegates participated in a variety of committees ranging from the World Health Organization to the United Nations Security Council to a simulation of the Chronicles of Narnia.

“I was at first extremely nervous and anxious for the conference as it would be the first one I’d be attending,” freshman Suzie Bae said. “However, I grew to love the debating environment and it was an extremely exciting first time for me, and I can’t wait for future conferences.”

TJMUN brought home three Best Delegate awards, commonly known as “gavels,” and a number of Outstanding Delegate, Honorable Mention and Verbal Commendation awards. Gavels went to senior Connor Hennessey-Niland, Jason Huang and Varun Jain, and juniors Nathaniel Taylor, Vikram Sardana and Sreya Atluri. The club received the award for the top school performance at the conference, the Secretary-General’s award for Best Large Delegation.

“We are immensely proud of the work all of our delegates put in to prepare for this conference, and we were pleased with our overall performance,” junior and Arbitrator for TJMUN, said.

The next conference for the club is at Gar-Field High School on Jan. 18, followed by a championship-level conference, the Ivy League Model United Nations Conference (ILMUNC), on Jan. 30-Feb. 2.

“We’ve come a long way since the beginning of the year as a club,” Hennessey-Niland said. “We will keep up our determination to improve and hopefully have a strong showing at ILMUNC.”