In this year’s North American Invitational Model United Nations (NAIMUN) conference, Phillips Academy brought home 11 awards and won the Outstanding School award for second place, rounding off one of the best finishes in Phillips Academy Model United Nations history. Forty-five students and three faculty members attended the NAIMUN conference last Thursday through Saturday. The conference was held in Washington D.C. and hosted by Georgetown University. 2,500 students from across the nation joined Phillips Academy representatives for the conference. The PA students who participated in this trip were specifically chosen for their exceptional performances and hard work during the year. “The conference is invaluable because it lets us test our skills against the best of the best, while providing much appreciated experience for all of our delegates,” said Michael Tully ’07, Co-Head of PA’s Model United Nations club. First place award winners, or Best Delegates, included Cassius Clay ’09, Annalee Leggett ’09, Berol Dewdney ’09, Cora Lewis ’09, Thomas Smyth ’08 and Jessica White ’07. Tantum Collins ’08, Philip Meyer ’08, Andy Clay ’08, Will Eastman ’08, Jennifer Downing ’08, Sam Gould ’07, Adam Giansiracusa ’08, Helal Syed ’07 and Justin Waite ’07 won either an Outstanding Delegation or an Honorable Mention for the United Arab Emirates. In the more advanced Cabinets and Security Councils, Sarah Guo ’07, John Gwin ’07 and Mike Tully ’07 all won awards. “Sitting with all the Andover students during the ceremony and hearing our country names being called over and over again made me really proud to be a student at Phillips Academy — it was a great feeling,” said Cora Lewis ’09. Model UN is designed so that students represent a country in a mock UN committee or other international political body. Before leaving, Phillips Academy students were assigned to represent the United Arab Emirates, Estonia and other nations. Either in pairs or working individually, students acted as delegates for their nations, competing against other students at the conference to forward their country’s agenda during the session. PA participants in this conference were given some time off to explore the sights of Washington. “Aside from committee sessions, I toured Georgetown, spent a lot of time at Chipotle and did homework,” said Tantum Collins ’08. Many of those who went said that the chance to explore the Washington, D.C. area was one of the most memorable parts of the trip. One student said, “Just leaving campus and being somewhere completely different made me feel so refreshed.” This spring, Phillips Academy will be holding a similar conference called Phillips Academy Invitational Specialized Committee Conference (PAISC). With the same goals and purpose as the NAIMUN, this conference will be able to give other schools who did not attend NAIMUN a chance to experience the process of such a conference.
