Montana State students take honors at Model UN competitions

BOZEMAN - Nineteen students from Montana State University participated in the 75th Model United Nations of the Far West competition in San Francisco April 17-21. Model UN is a simulation program in which college students participate in model sessions of the United Nations to advance their understanding of the principles and means by which international relations are maintained.

To commemorate the 75th session, opening ceremonies were held at the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House, where the United Nations Charter was signed in 1945.

The 19 students who attended were enrolled this spring in the model United Nations course taught by Eric Raile, associate professor in the Department of Political Science in the College of Letters and Science. They were split into four delegations representing the countries of Bolivia, Croatia, Latvia and Tunisia. Each MSU delegation earned the Slanczka Diplomacy Award for the quality of its pre-conference written materials. In addition, Kailer Hegna, a junior from Girdwood, Alaska, majoring in political science, served as a delegate to the Security Council, which won the Mike McBride Best Resolution Award for the best resolution at the conference.

Ten of the students who traveled were political science majors, and nine were from various other disciplines. All of them belonged to the Model United Nations student club at MSU, which was led by Jacob Harvey, a junior from Dillon majoring in political science. In November 2025, the club sent a group of four students to Seattle for the Northwest Model United Nations event, where the team won a distinguished delegation award and two newcomers won individual awards.

Melisa Carter, a master's student in public administration from South Africa, won an award for the position paper she wrote in advance of serving as a delegate to the General Assembly. Caitlyn Sistok, a sophomore from Kalispell majoring in history, was named the outstanding delegate in the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. Also competing were lead delegate Caleb Jackson, a senior majoring in history teaching, and Samuel Hillman, a senior majoring in history.

"The Model United Nations program at Montana State University has served as a setting for our students to develop confidence and crucial skills," said Raile, who has traveled with students to Model UN events since 2014. "This year's group of students again showed tremendous growth and quality."