Early this month from April 2 to April 6, representatives from UCR’s Model United Nations club made their way to the big city to attend a conference hosted by the National Model United Nations. UCR MUN was one of several hundred organizations to attend, yet the club distinguished itself and UCR amongst the crowd by winning the top award of outstanding delegation for the 2022 New York conference, an award granted to only the top 5% of schools.
Third-year political science major and the president of the club, Cecila Lopez Gonzalez, discussed the significance of the club as a whole in representing UCR. “UCR MUN signifies our university’s focus to bring a spotlight on international issues that are ongoing while promoting a professional environment for students to get involved with like-minded individuals,” she explained. “Our main goal … is promoting students’ speech delivery, writing and networking skills all while discussing global issues by simulating the United Nations.”
Gonzalez also emphasized the accomplishment of taking home the outstanding delegation award, highlighting that UCR MUN “performed better than 95% of other schools,” including schools where MUN is held as a class rather than as an extracurricular activity. Amongst the schools to attend included both national and international ones from countries like Egypt, Germany, Italy and more.
Along with this award, two students, fourth-year political science and international affairs major Maher Oueida and first-year anthropology major Michael Khvat, also took home a committee award and delivered a speech to the large audience of around 2,000. “I was extremely proud to represent UCR. While the international community present at this conference may not have been familiar with us before … the overall delegation … has definitely landed us on the radar for future conferences,” Oueida, who is also the vice president of the club, explained.
Students eager to learn more about the club can find them on Instagram @UCRMUN.
