Harvard-Westlake Model United Nations (HWMUN) participated in BruinMUN on the UCLA campus from Nov. 9-10, winning multiple awards. Alex Rho ’25 and Rex Grube ’25 won Best Delegate, and Liv Kriger ’25 and Satya Change ’25, Angel Song ’27 and Camille Hart ’27 and Linden Azad ’26 won Outstanding Delegate. Ellika LeSage ’26, Assistant Features Editor Lyla Kavanagh ’26, Connor Martin ’26 and Hudson Lake ’26 won Honorable Mention. Charlotte Im ’27, Hayley Ross-Settineri ’27, Presentations Managing Editor Nathan Wang ’25 and Executive Editor Alex Dinh ’25 won Commendation.
BruinMUN is an annual event where students engage in debates across 26 committees, including 15 general assemblies, five specialized committees and six crisis committees.
Grube said the key to his and his partner’s success was working with other delegates and creating well-thought-out speeches.
“The two largest parts of what made [Rho] and I stand out as a dual delegation were our speeches and our ability to collaborate with others,” Grube said. “During committee, the chairs are really looking for delegates with many different people rather than just one small group. [Rho] and I did this really well, since we were able to split up during unmoderated caucuses and hear ideas from a ton of different people. Combined with our speeches that we worked on together, we were able to have a super successful conference and win best delegate.”
Azad said her passion for her role and her confidence were evident throughout the conference.
“I wore a lavender suit, so that definitely made me stand out,” Azad said. “I was loud, assertive and spoke with confidence. I placed emphasis on numbers and statistics, especially during my opening speeches so that the chairs could tell I was passionate about the subject. It’s really important to be friendly and kind to others, a factor that many delegates do not find necessary to their success.”
Azad also said that it is important for students to not act too serious or monotonous and instead enjoy their role as a delegate.
“Have fun with it,” Azad said. “It’s very tempting to try and copy other delegates in what they say and how they act, but the chairs appreciate you being yourself while handling the topic professionally.”
Hart said that although this was her first Model UN conference, she managed to succeed through constant engagement.
“I tried to raise my placard as much as possible to get my points across,” Hart said. “Even though it was my first time doing Model UN and I wasn’t totally comfortable speaking, trying to actively participate helped my partner and I find common ground with other countries and work with them in forming resolutions.”
