Students Represent CSUSM at National Model UN Conference

Students Represent CSUSM at National Model UN Conference

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A team of 17 Cal State San Marcos students recently competed and won two major awards at the National Model United Nations (NMUN) conference in New York City.

Representing Mexico, the team won the Outstanding Delegation Award, and one of the members, senior Matt (McKenzie) Anthony, won an Outstanding Delegate Award.

The conference took place from March 29 to April 2 at the United Nations headquarters in Manhattan.

The CSUSM students were joined by six students from Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pa., creating a joint delegation of 23.

This marked the first NMUN conference for CSUSM since 2016. The Model United Nations program on campus has been revived by Roni Kay O'Dell, an assistant professor of environmental politics in the political science and global affairs department. O'Dell is the main academic adviser for the Model UN and has advised award-winning Model UN teams for 12 years, including at previous university positions.

"I'm so proud and impressed with the dedication of the students to learn from this experience and to expand their professional skills beyond the classroom and into their future academic, career and other professional development opportunities," O'Dell said. "The students prepare for months, learning about the country they will represent and practicing and learning negotiation and diplomacy skills. They then put it into practice at the conference, and they always learn a great deal that they apply to expanding their skills and abilities.

"The whole Model UN experience makes an invaluable impression on the students and gives them the opportunity for social mobility and the experience to apply to professional development. We are so grateful for all the help and support across the CSUSM campus to everyone who made the team's experience at NMUN a success."

The NMUN conference gives students the opportunity to practice negotiation, speaking and writing skills with more than 3,000 peers from universities across the world. Students are assigned to different committees as they train for and prepare for the conference. They each learn about the history, politics, economy and foreign policy of the country they will represent.

As delegates representing Mexico, the CSUSM students worked in committees with dozens of their peers. They started by giving speeches and simulating the work of delegates at the UN who must bring policy recommendations on the issues to the committee. They then worked with each other (some of the committees have several hundred students) to debate, negotiate and write resolutions that specify how governments can cooperate to solve common security and human rights problems.

Anthony, a criminology and justice studies major, won an award for his outstanding work in the General Assembly second committee on negotiation and diplomacy. He shared the award with Elisabeth Gallagher, a team member from Seton Hill.

"I think the most important aspect of the experience wasn't only the friendships made but the building and strengthening of diplomatic skills that can be used in our future careers and our daily lives as an excellent way to build a strong social framework of friends and colleagues," Anthony said.

In addition to Anthony, the CSUSM team included the following students (with positions and UN committees at the conference as well as academic major):

• Jessica Aguilar, Economic and Social Council, first-year political science major
• Miguel Andres Dumani Garaicoa, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, third-year political science major
• Tatum Basco, General Assembly Second Committee, second-year political science major
• Lucia Elia, General Assembly Second Committee, first-year political science major
• Joseph Gominiak, General Assembly Third Committee, second-year history major
• Amira Helmy, Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, fourth-year political science major
• Andrea Fernanda Hernández Corral, General Assembly Third Committee, third-year political science major
• Armany Mendoza Lopez, High Commissioner for Refugees, fourth-year political science major
• Zeenia Najmi, Environmental Assembly, graduating economics major
• Ava Nolen, Human Rights Council, fourth-year political science and global studies double major
• Diana Ortega, Economic, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), graduating political science major
• Monserrat Perez-Manzo, Committee on Narcotic Drugs, first-year political science and criminology double major
• Melanie Reyna; High Commissioner for Refugees, second-year political science major
• Baylee Robinson, Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, third-year political science major
• Ashleigh Skarshaug, head delegate and Environmental Assembly, third-year political science and criminology double major
• Kelly Vu, Economic, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), second-year biology major

More information about CSUSM's Model UN program can be found at its webpage.

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