The Harvard Model United States Conference took place January 11th through January 14th in San Francisco at the Hyatt Regency. Students who attended the conference worked in a variety of groups with a goal to further understand the United Nations and work towards promoting peace while being educated about world issues. Ms. Boquiren and Dr. Steitz accompanied them on this trip.
Students who attended this event include: Mahlet Mekasha, Yared Fente, Kamila Ramirez, Daisy Castillo, Nova Solan, Anali Centeno, Fernanda Salazar, Julio Zavala Barragan, Yenatfanta Hailemariam, and Milki Neme.
“The decision to attend the Harvard Model United Nations was made by our MUN advisor Mrs. Boquiren, Preuss
leadership and the MUN club leadership. The scholars, however, were selected by the MUN Advisory and School Leadership with input from the MUN Club,” expressed Principal Dr. Steitz.
While there was a limited number of students who attended the conference, each student was able to experience something different. They all had designated roles and or committees but had the same opportunities to engage in debates as well with new people. It was a chance to make new friends from other places while also getting a chance to be able to simulate the United States Congressional system.
“I was in SCOTUS, aka the Supreme Court of the United States. In this committee we debate cases based on constitutional law and past Supreme Court cases. We were judges and lawyers in the committee. We swapped out every round and there were about 6 rounds per case. It was nice to hear about their different experiences through MUN as most had been to Harvard model congress Europe and Boston,” stated Ruth Kibrom (‘26)
Despite these long conferences, students had time to go get lunch at fast food places and even view the pier as well. It allowed for new experiences in new places and brought excitement towards other future MUN events.
Not only did it give students something to look back on but it also gave chances to be better united as a club as they had to stick together. Many of the students often looked back to the annual midnight crisis as the most exciting part of this trip.
“What stood out to me about the conference was the fact that they had their annual midnight crisis, where they go to the delegates’ hotel room, start banging on the doors simulating what would happen if a crisis were to happen in those hours,” mentioned Kamila Ramirez (‘25).
Overall, scholars were able to get an out of touch experience where they gained new friendships and knowledge on the United Nations. MUN students who participated want to continue to do this and go on future trips!
