In its third consecutive victory, the Model UN team won the best large delegation award at the North American Invitational Model United Nations conference at Georgetown University from Feb. 12-15. Eleven students received first place in their committees, and six additional students received other awards. 

Senior Maggie Yagan, one of the secretaries-generals for U-High Model UN, said the team shifted its strategy this year by competing as a large delegation, rather than small, to account for growth.

“Usually we only take 14 kids to compete as a small delegation,” Maggie said, “but this year, because of how much our team has expanded in the last few years, we wanted to give more sophomores and juniors the chance to come. So, we decided to compete as a large delegation, bringing 18 total people.”

According to Maggie, NAIMUN is the team’s “version of nationals.”

Preparation began with a two-week evaluation period before winter break, followed by delegation assignments. The team then spent several weeks in daily preparation — far longer than regular Model UN competitions, which typically take only two weeks of preparation. But beyond the unusual preparation time, experience played a helpful role in navigating the heightened competition environment. 

Senior Ishie Holz emphasized how returning delegates made a difference.    

 “There were only three seniors on the trip who had gone for the past three years, so it’s definitely an experience factor,” Ishie said. “The level of competition is just totally different at these kind of conferences, so having that experience was really helpful.”

The Model UN team has two more competitions to wrap up the season with Lyons Township on March 7 and their annual four-day Northwestern conference in April.