WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — For the second time in three years, the Model United Nations team of Midwestern State University received top honors at a national collegiate Model United Nations Conference.

The MSU Texas Model U.N. Team traveled to the Collegiate National Model United Nations Conference in New York City on April 2-6, 2023, returning to Wichita Falls with an Outstanding Delegation Award, the highest honor at the conference.

The MSU Texas Model U.N. Team also took home this award in 2021.

MSU Texas’ team also earned two Outstanding Position Paper awards. MSU Texas students Emily Beaman and Andrea Repici won for their work in the United Nations Environmental Assembly, and Gabbie Pettijohn and Brandon Goins won for their work in the General Assembly Second Committee.

This was only the third time MSU Texas has won the Outstanding Delegation Award and establishes the team as one of the most successful programs in the last few years. This honor was all the more significant as the team was recognized before the entire conference in the General Assembly building of the United Nations.

This marked the sixth straight year that MSU Texas was recognized at the national conference and two out of the last three years earned the top honor.

According to a press release from MSU Texas, this year’s conference was significant because it marked the full return to normalcy following the COVID-19 disruption. This included the honor of meeting in the UN General Assembly building for the first time in four years.

Because of this, the conference was more widely attended, bringing a higher level of competition and drawing teams from across the world. According to the press release, success in 2023 makes the accomplishment even more admirable and meaningful.

The MSU Texas Model U.N. Team is made up of students from all six colleges on the campus of MSU, with Political Science major Zetta Cannedy serving as the head Delegate for MSU, who was the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal in the 2023 conference.

Student preparations began in the fall semester and included numerous hours of independent, extensive research and writing. Students had to create position papers representing Nepal’s position on key policy questions.

More About the Model United Nations

Model UN is a learning simulation in which students role-play the delegation of a country in the United Nations.

Students serve on various committees organized by policy area, and they are charged with developing solutions to existing global problems such as the disposal of nuclear waste, reducing the proliferation of arms to non-state actors, or strengthening sustainable development.

Model UN epitomizes is a multi-disciplinary activity requiring students to conduct independent research, critically examine a real-world problem, develop a solution to this problem, and then convince their competitors that their solution is the most effective.

This high-impact learning practice requires students to utilize research, critical thinking, communication, and, most importantly, leadership skills.

To be successful students must speak publicly on their solution and build coalitions of supporters, as well as develop a written resolution that is adopted by a majority of their committee.