By Justin Hsieh, News Editor
Yesterday, the FVHS Model United Nations (MUN) team made their competitive debut at the annual Cerritos High School MUN Conference. With strong performances across all levels and multiple delegates winning awards in competition, the event marked a high starting point for the team’s yearlong season of competition.
At MUN conferences, students (or ‘delegates’) participate in simulations of the various committees of the United Nations. Each delegate is assigned a country to represent and a problem to solve, and they must work to find and debate a solution that fits their country’s policies. While these simulations are notoriously intimidating for first-time delegates, the FVHS team was able to rise to the occasion and saw its first-time delegates flourish under pressure.
“To be honest, it was pretty nerve-wracking considering that it was my first conference,” said freshman Natalie Tran. “But even though I was nervous at the beginning, I realized that there was nothing to be scared about… I was engaged throughout the conference and I loved every aspect of it. I am excited for the rest of the season and hope to have more successful conferences in the future.”
Natalie Tran was one of three first-time delegates from FVHS who won awards at the conference, an impressive achievement for the young team. Along with junior Camille Tran, who represented Israel in the UN Third Assembly, and freshman Peter Lam, who represented Israel in UNICEF, Natalie Tran won an Award of Excellence for her performance as Israel in the World Health Organization.
“My experience today was spectacular,” said Lam. “I had fun socializing and meeting new people, and talking to people within our team. I feel confident that I can succeed in the rest of this season, and I can’t wait for future conferences.”
The FVHS team also saw outstanding performances under pressure from its other first-time delegates, including junior Samson Le, sophomores Isabella Galiteva and Warren Lin and freshmen Alexander Monson and Priscilla Le.
“Before the conference, I definitely felt excited but unprepared,” said Le. “[But] my nervousness turned into excitement eventually leading to me opening up during any conversations or any speeches… Although I didn’t get an award, I learned so much from this experience that it didn’t even matter. I’m looking forward to more conferences where I can discuss different topics educating myself of worldly problems happening today.”
In addition to their first-timers, the FVHS team also entered several veteran delegates into competition. Sophomores Judy Liu and Dylan Do returned to the conference for stellar performances as Israel in the UN Fourth Assembly and the UN Economic and Social Council, with Liu winning her first award at Cerritos and Do winning an award for the second year in a row.
“Compared to the last Cerritos conference I definitely feel like I’m better prepared and that I’ve greatly improved,” said Liu. “I feel really excited and hopeful for the rest of MUN to come since we were so successful this time.
Sophomore Matthew Bees also competed at Cerritos for the second year in a row, representing Israel in the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Bees expressed a similar sense of personal growth at the conference.
“I definitely did a lot better than past times at conferences and I am very proud of what I accomplished today,” said Bees. “I spoke well, countries commended me for my speeches and I enjoyed the experience thoroughly. I feel ready for future conferences.”
Overall, the conference was a solid first step for the FVHS team, which has been revitalized over the past three years and is steadily growing into a sizeable competitive program. FVHS MUN President senior Jeffrey Carr, who observed the delegates in competition as a student advisor, expressed his satisfaction with their performances.
“The moderators of each committee gave excellent feedback to confirm what I witnessed, that each of our delegates were active in committee and were able to perform at the highest level,” said Carr. “Based off of our club’s performance, I can say positively that we will thrive going into the future conferences of the year. Each of our delegates proved that they were willing to put in the work necessary to succeed, and I am excited for our upcoming competition at UCLA in November!”
