McMurry’s Model UN Shines in The Big Apple

New York City—the self-proclaimed city of dreams and opportunity—and the site for eager War Hawks apart of the Model United Nations (MUN) class. During April, MUN traveled to New York City for the annual NMUN conference. The team participated in five different committees representing Belize. All representatives from McMurry worked with other college students from all over the world, and each committee held its own mandate and worked on a diverse body of topics and issues. Model UN was founded to create opportunities for future world leaders to address world problems and build solutions.

Representing COP, the Conference of Parties, Alec Hanshaw and Odai Warrayat worked on the topic of capacity-building for combating climate change in developing countries. The duo sponsored four papers that were passed as resolutions and were signatories on many more. “The biggest take away was learning how to cooperate with students from all over the world, and to reach a common goal,” said junior Alec Hanshaw.

Abby Rodriguez and Cameron Foster represented the United Nations Environment Assembly, UNEA. The two worked on the topic of addressing plastic litter and microplastics. The duo worked heavily on two papers, both of which were passed.

Juliana Fabrizio and Sherack Malokwu assumed the role of Belize in the General Assembly 1, discussing nuclear disarmament and international security. The pair worked with other small developing nations to create a united resolution on the topic that was passed by the entire committee. “Model UN is always a great learning experience. I’m a political science major, so it’s neat to see what kind of careers I could go into with my degree,” said junior Juliana Fabrizio.

General Assembly 2 was represented by Peace Phan. The committee worked on external debt sustainability and development. Peace Phan worked on two resolutions that were passed. Peace also took home a position paper award. The award is given to delegates who write an outstanding paper on the position their country would take on the topic and is submitted before the conference.

Josephine Woytas represented the General Assembly 3 committee, passing two resolutions discussing combating human trafficking. Josephine also took home a position paper award. Along with Latin-American and Caribbean nations, Josephine worked toward creative solutions in prevention, prosecution, and protection.

The conference concluded by the group traveling to the General Assembly hall of the United Nations Secretariat for closing ceremonies. NMUN organizers and members of the United Nations spoke to students and professors about their careers in the UN and the options that students could possibly pursue in the future.

The trip was not all business, however, the team had the opportunity to explore the city and all it had to offer. The group made stops in Little Italy, the Museum of Modern Art, the Empire State Building, and many other world famous sites in the “Big Apple.” Unique food and experiences were all within grasp of the team in NYC and they took advantage of it. If you are interested in joining the Model UN team, contact Dr. Bihter Tomen.