Wooster Model UN team continues successful track record at American Model UN

The College of Wooster Model United Nations team continued its tradition of excellence at the November 2023 American Model UN competition in Chicago, earning a prestigious team award and three committee awards featuring five individual team members.

Even with the challenging assignment of representing the Russian Federation, the team was one of only five teams given the highest award of Overall Best Delegation, according to team advisor Kent Kille, professor of political science and global & international studies. The Wooster team was led by Carrie Buckwalter ’24, this year’s Model UN president and the team’s head delegate for the conference. Samantha Jones ’25 and Sophie Bruce ’25 on the General Assembly First Committee, Abby Thomson ’24 and Cassidy Nankervis ’27 on the Commission on Population and Development, and Nemsie Gonzalez ’26 on the International Telecommunication Union each received Exceptional Representation awards.

Receiving the individual and team awards while representing the Russian Federation in Chicago was especially rewarding, said Thomson, a senior global & international studies and French & Francophone studies double major. The current state of international affairs made representing the Russian Federation difficult. The team had to advocate for many positions that were unpopular among UN member states and American college students. “That presented dual challenges: first, arguing in favor of and staying faithful to solutions that you may not personally support, and second, finding ways to work with individuals who are predisposed to disagree with you as people and as delegates,” said Thomson, who has been involved in Model UN for eight years, including four years at Wooster and four years in high school.

Kille explained that at Wooster, three students are elected to the officer positions of president, vice president, and research coordinator. “They gain valuable leadership experience in organizing and running the weekly team meetings,” he said. Each year, the traveling team is made up of the three officers and 13 students selected through a competitive tryout process. The research team helps prepare the traveling team for the conferences and provides valuable training and experience for non-traveling team members.

Carrie Buckwalter ’24, the 2023-24 Model UN president and the team’s head delegate for the conference, stands alongside, Thomas Pitney, vice president, and Sammy Amier research director.

To prepare the team to represent Russia, research director Nurain (Sammy) Amier ’26 trained members to anticipate and respond to attacks. “To come up with logical counterarguments, we really had to try to understand Russia’s views behind certain topics and the reason behind certain policies,” said Amier, who, as a biology major, exemplifies the diverse academic backgrounds of students involved in Model UN. Each week, members earned points for participating in a research competition, attending meetings, and completing tasks such as submitting position paper drafts. “I was pleased to see many team members consistently doing research preparations leading up to the conference. Our efforts definitely showed during the conference; our members were more prepared and well-researched compared to many, if not most, other delegates,” she said.

Prior to the conference, Thomson and Nankervis met with research team members supporting their committee, Orion Bress ’24 and Noa Davny ’24, to conduct research on their position. “As part of the process, we wrote a paper detailing Russia’s prior work on our topics and outlining our delegation’s goals for the conference,” Thomson said. The research and the competitions have improved her writing and taught her important lessons about how to build consensus in group situations. “These skills have been important throughout college, and I anticipate that they will continue to be useful after graduation,” she said.

For Amier, who plans to pursue a STEM career as a public health veterinarian, participating in Model UN provides more opportunities than her STEM courses to cultivate critical skills such as public speaking, diplomacy, and conflict resolution. “These are skills that can be applied to boost my future career, which is why I really cherish being a part of the Wooster Model UN,” she said.

“Model UN holds a unique place at Wooster,” said Kille. “It is not a separate student organization, but a formal Academic Affairs program funded through that office for decades.” Many students with experience in Model UN take an interest in the Wooster teams’ successes, and the College offers the Model UN Leadership Award for students interested in Model UN at Wooster. “Carrie and Nemsie, two of the award-winning performers at the American Model UN this semester, are past scholarship winners,” he said.

The team will travel to New York in the spring to compete in the National Model UN conference, representing Qatar.

Top image: Abby Thomson ’24 and Cassidy Nankervis ’27 were two of several students who received Exceptional Representation awards at the November 2023 American Model UN competition in Chicago.

Posted in News on January 5, 2024.