The Model United Nations Club won the Award of Distinction at the National High School Model United Nations (NHSMUN) Conference. The team travelled to New York to compete in the competition from March 7-10.
NHSMUN is an annual competition and the largest Model UN Conference in the world. Students from around the world travel to New York to participate in a tournament, roleplaying as delegates and working with students from that are both also representing nations but from different countries themselves, to try and achieve victory. Students also have the privilege of meeting ambassadors and diplomats from their designated countries.
Executive Editor Alex Dinh ’25, Assistant Opinion Editor Ellika LeSage ’26, Ryan Hung ’26 and Rhea Khanna ’26 won Awards of Excellence. Ethan Chen ’26, Linden Azad ’26, Vice President Alex Rho ’25 and Julian Rho ’26 won Awards of Merit.
Alex Rho said he appreciates how MUN can have an aspect of comradeship while working with other delegates.
“NHSMUN has this energy where you’re debating all day, then somehow still excited to stay up late working on resolutions with people you just met,” Rho said. “There was one night where I was in a group with delegates from three different continents, and even though we were exhausted, we were all fully locked in, trying to craft a solution. That moment stuck with me because it showed what Model UN is really about, beyond awards or recognition, it’s about collaboration and finding common ground.”
Junior Representative Dhara Jobrani ’26 said the tournament helped him discover his areas for improvement as a delegate.
“It was great to see the city, and it was very cool to see all these kids from different places come together to compete,” Jobrani said. “Being in New York was cool because it feels more professional, and everyone’s in suits and speaking different languages. I didn’t come back with an award, and I could definitely have worked on my public speaking, having more creative ideas and collaborating better.”
Club Member Linden Azad ’26 said the conference helped develop her faith in her own speaking ability and taught her to actively listen to the voices of other delegates.
“One of my main takeaways is to be confident,” Azad said. “I hadn’t realized that I probably would not see any of those delegates again, so I should not be afraid of messing up. Equally as important, I learned that sometimes it is best to not dominate the conversation as much. It’s important to give others the chance to speak, as that fosters more productive and diplomatic discussions between delegates.”
Club Member Charlotte Im ’27 said she was grateful for the opportunity to compete against people from many different backgrounds.
“It was the most fun experience I’ve ever had,” Im said. “The best part was meeting people from all over the world, which I did not expect at all, from places like Italy, Panama, Mexico and other states too. It still hasn’t hit me that my partner and I got to work and make close friends with so many people.”
Im also said she appreciated how the tournament acted as a team building experience for her despite the tense atmosphere of the conference.
“The most special part of this for me was how willing everyone in MUN is to help you,” Im said. “Not only at HW, where so many amazing juniors and seniors gave me advice I’ll always use, but also the people I met along the way at the conference. Yes, it’s competitive, but at the end of the day, the part I miss the most is the people I got to meet.”
