The PDS MUN team is an esteemed point of pride for the school community. However, there is much more to MUN than its prestige, and this was evident following its most recent conference, ILMUNC. With over 2,000 ambitious delegates from 130+ schools, the Ivy League Model UN Conference at UPenn is a notoriously exciting but demanding experience for students all over the country. This year, however, the PDS team faced an additional challenge: due to the recent snow days and schedule disruptions, the school’s Mock Trial team, which shares many of its members with MUN, had their competition moved to the same weekend as ILMUNC, creating unforeseen overlap and logistical difficulty for both parties. However, the PDS team was able to persevere and triumph, bringing home a slew of awards including Best Delegate, Outstanding Delegate, and Honorable Mentions, spanning a range of grades and experience levels.
Talking to members of the team, however, reveals that their devotion to MUN comes from far more than just a love for winning. Senior Ben Masia said that the MUN community is a home to “all different kinds of people,” and he is proud of the fact that “the people who do it are really passionate about it.” It’s true: Having over forty people, new and returning, sign up for its last simulation, the Model UN club continuously draws and unites people of all different grade levels, experiences, backgrounds, and hobbies.
“The team is my favorite part of MUN,” added junior Michelle Xu. Although MUN’s argumentative nature can make it seem like a competitive environment, everyone on the team genuinely “looks out for each other” and “wants each other to do well on committee,” and that’s incredibly important to the club, she stated.
This capacity for mutual support and connection, though, is an invaluable skill that MUN members carry far beyond the PDS community: “Having a MUN background is so helpful no matter what you want to pursue in the future,” explained senior Laasya Kanumuri, “because it teaches you to work with people you’ve never met before towards a resolution” and sets you up for success as both a leader and teammate wherever you may go in the future.
With this year’s final Model UN conference at Dartmouth College in less than a month, there is already a lot of emotion and excitement circulating within the team. For many seniors, including secretariat members Adya Jha, Aadi Shankar, and Ben Masia, this will be their last time representing PDS at a conference, and it goes without saying that it will be a bittersweet experience. However, MUN’s strong, skilled, and supportive environment ensures that its streak of success will run for a long time. If you have even any interest in being a part of that legacy, make sure to join this community within the Upper School next year. In the meantime, cheer the team on at DartMUN next month, and get ready—PDS’s collection of awards is about to get even bigger.
