In the past two months, the PDS Model UN team attended conferences held at Georgetown (NAIMUN) and Yale (YMUN). Various members of both teams agreed that the conference was an amazing learning experience and an opportunity to display their skills and growth. Members of the Model UN team spent weeks preparing for the conferences. Arjun Ray ‘24, a delegate who attended YMUN, agreed that “The process was exhausting, but the experience was entirely worth it.” Various members reemphasized the same sentiment – that the conferences were challenging, but everyone thought that it was fun! Though for some YMUN attendees it was their first conference, thanks to the tireless efforts of the Model UN team veterans to prepare their mentees, every new member arrived at the Zoom conference more confident and capable than when they had begun. At the end of each conference, the attendees gathered for a “final hype session” and to watch the award ceremonies. Katie Jain ‘21 and Anjali Bhatia ‘21, the Secretary Generals of the PDS Model UN team, made sure each conference ended on a high note with these fun meetings.  

Members of the PDS Model UN team from both conferences won awards. Anjali Bhatia ‘21 and Arjun Ray ‘24 placed as Best Delegate. Vaishnavi Bhalla ‘23, Akash Bhowmick ‘23, and Ben Masia ‘24 placed as Outstanding Delegate. Sarina Hasan ‘22, Alex McInnes ‘23, Liam Ryan ‘24, Kyler Zhou ‘23, and Navaneeth Rajan ‘23 placed with Honorable Mention. Matan Blitz ‘21, Arjun Kumar ‘23, Katrina Zeng ‘23, Albert Zhou ‘23, and Sam Elkin ‘24 placed with Verbal Commendation. 

In an interview with several NAIMUN attendees, more quotes were shared that outlined delegates’ more personal experiences at the conference. Navaneeth Rajan ‘23 helped explain his tactic at the conference, stating that “Exploiting the opium addictions of the underprivileged was imperative in my 5-step plan to take over Mexico.” Akash Bhowmick ‘23 emphasized how his Model UN skills changed over the course of the conference, explaining that “I’ve become what I fear most, an interrupting power delegate.” Finally, David Cohen ‘23 offered his own perspective about some of the more deceiving conference attendees from around the world, joking that “I think I joined the zoology club cause the whole time I was just with snakes.” 

Both conferences provided not only an amazing experience for the attendees but a sense of normalcy in a COVID-19 dominated world. For many delegates, YMUN and NAIMUN were the first conferences they had attended since the pandemic began. The PDS Model UN team held a conference simulation on February 26, encouraging every interested individual to attend. The events of this simulation will be used to help determine the roster for the spring conferences, which will hopefully be as enjoyable as YMUN and NAIMUN.