Upper School Model UN Team Named Best Large Delegation at Final Conference of Season
The Upper School Model United Nations team concluded their weekend conference season very successfully, as they were named Best Large Delegation at the Philadelphia Model UN Conference held February 23-26 in the city. The delegation also earned many individual and small-group awards at the conference.
Below is an excerpt from Advisor and History Teacher Clark Thomson summary sent to parents and guardians:
The Moorestown Friends School Model United Nations finished their weekend conference season with an exceptional team performance at the Philadelphia Model UN Conference. There were a few rough waters to navigate, two delegates stuck on an overpacked elevator, some bad poke bowls, and questionable behavior by delegates from a few other schools, but the team stayed focused throughout and enjoyed the highs and the lows equally. As Inspector Clousseau informed, it is all part of life’s rich pageant. And sometimes, that reveals riches.
At the first (Rutgers Model UN), we were rewarded with Outstanding Delegation. This time around, we earned Best Delegation. It was a fine way to cap a great year of Model United Nations. Below is a list of the individuals and pairs who were recognized, but every delegate contributed to the success of the delegation as a whole. The future is bright for MFS MUN, but success is in large part the result of the hard work and commitment of the leadership of this program. I have never seen seven students work so seamlessly (though I hear behind closed doors, consensus takes much more work than it might appear) at creating a program that strikes all the correct notes. I am not surprised. I have seen it from the opening work on QMUNC, every class period, and all the comradery engendered at conferences. Maya DeAndrea ’25, Avani Verma ’24, Haila Desai ’24, Heera Dalal ’23, Vanya Weinstock ’23, Shay O’Connor ’23, and Andrew Mercantini ’23 have carried quite a load, and always with smiles and support. Future leadership teams have quite an exemplar.
Below are all Moorestown Friends School award winners from the conference:
Moorestown Friends School – Best Large Delegation
Shay O’Connor ’23 & Sarah Huynh ’25 (representing Ireland in the World Health Organization) – Most Improved Delegation
Angie Siaca Sánchez ’24 & Ava Patel ’25 (representing Ireland in the Legal Committee) – Most Improved Delegation
Andrew Zhou ’25 & Ethan Cohen ’26 (representing Ireland in the Conference of Parties) – Most Improved Delegation
Mason Levens ’25 (as the Open Society Initiative for West Africa in the NGO Summit On African Development) – Most Improved Delegate
Haila Desai ’24 & Dinah Megibow-Taylor ’24 (representing South Africa in the United Nations Department Of Political Affairs) – Best Position Paper
Sophia Lalani ’25 & Zaydan Lalani ’26 (representing South Africa in the Conference of Parties) – Outstanding Delegation
Daniel Sorokin ’23 (as Vice President Rebecca Nyandeng Garang in the South Sudanese Cabinet) – Outstanding Delegate
Heera Dalal ’23 & Maya DeAndrea ’25 (representing Ireland in the Commission On The Status Of Women) – Outstanding Delegation
Andrew Mercantini ’23 & Avani Verma ’24 (representing Ireland in the United Nations Office On Drugs And Crime) – Best Delegation
Himanshu Sahore ’24 & Maxwell Wang ’25 (representing South Africa in the Legal Committee) – Best Delegation
Charlotte Nesevich ’25 & Vanya Weinstock ’23 (representing South Africa in the United Nations Office Of Counter-Terrorism) – Best Delegation
Luke Iacono ’25 (as Stephen Schwebel in the International Court of Justice) – Best Delegate