Wooster Model UN team achieves success at competition

The College of Wooster’s Model United Nations team continued a tradition of competitive excellence at the November 2024 American Model United Nations competition in Chicago. Led by faculty advisor Kent Kille, professor of political science, the team represented the United Kingdom and received several team-based and individual awards.  

Prior to attending the conference, Wooster’s team won a Position Paper Award, and based on their performance at the conference, the team was named an Outstanding Delegation, the highest ranking a team can achieve. Students also received several peer-delegation determined awards in two General Assembly committees, the Economic and Social Council, the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, and the Historical Security Council.  

Wooster’s success at the conference was especially impressive, as the team this year included many students new to collegiate Model UN. Team President Sam Peppers ’25, majoring in political science with a minor in religious studies, was very impressed with the professionalism and diplomacy of Wooster’s team. “Last year many of our most experienced team members graduated, and this year our team was, on average, much younger than in previous years,” he said. “I was quite happy that we won so many awards, as it reflects well not only on the College, but on our ability to train new members as well.” 

First-year student Madeleine Hicks ’28 felt grateful to compete with the team and to achieve these honors. “It was very special to earn those awards, especially since it was the first time I have ever participated in Model UN at any level,” she said. “I could tell when I joined that the team that they were very dedicated.” 

Students participating in Model UN master UN rules of procedure and build relationships with passionate students like them from around the world. “Model UN is an excellent place for Wooster students to learn about global issues from different perspectives and practice problem-solving, public speaking and diplomacy,” Peppers said. “These are skills that are of the utmost importance not only in the club, but in life as well. While Model UN is only a simulation of the UN, the skills it teaches and values it promotes are a first step toward real-world change.”  

Kille also wrote of the educational value of Model UN in a book he edited, Teaching International Organizations, which was released in January 2025. “The chapter on Model UN emphasizes the great educational value of participating in Model UN, and I see how much the students on our team take away from the experience,” he said. 

Wooster students continue to practice as a team throughout the spring semester, learning the general workings of the UN and developing research, debate, and public speaking skills to become skilled representatives of their assigned country. The team will return to competition in April at the National Model United Nations competition in New York City, where they will represent Senegal.  

Image: Cassidy Nankervis ’27, Sam Peppers ’25, and Sammy Amier ’26 serve as student leaders on the Model UN team.

Posted in Homepage Featured, News on February 10, 2025.