MUN team illuminates at ILMUNC

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Juniors Aryan Ranjan, Zaneer Mitha, Cinzia Baracco, Justin Folks, Jonah Jacobs, Naila Charania and Gauri Kasarla, along with the other MUN team members, visited different sites around Philadelphia, such as the Philadelphia Art Museum. (Photo submitted by Cinzia Baracco)

Taking their public speaking skills to Philadelphia, the Model United Nations (MUN) team showcased their abilities at the highly competitive Ivy League Model United Nations Conference (ILMUNC). Held Jan. 30 to Feb. 2 at the University of Pennsylvania, ILMUNC hosted 29 juniors and seniors members from the Heritage team.

After a less-than-stellar performance last year the first time the team competed in ILMUNC, with just seven of the 30 delegates winning an award, the team worked hard have a better outcome. “Something that makes ILMUNC super special was that it was our second time going, and we did so amazing,” junior Naila Charania said. “The first time we didn’t do too well, so going into this competition, we were all very determined to win, and our school did really well.” 

Those attending also had the opportunity to become closer. “We all really got to bond a lot,” Charania said. “[ILMUNC] really showed how great of a team we are because no matter what happened, even if someone did or didn’t win an award, we were all there for each other and supported and cheered on each other, which not many other teams do.”

In addition to competing, the team explored Philadelphia, touring the University of Pennsylvania campus, watching one of the school’s basketball games, visiting a Kobe Bryant tribute and playing football. 

“My favorite part was touring Penn and meeting a lot of the people who go there,” senior Aamir Lacewala said. “I’ll be going there next year so it was fun to experience.” 

Now, after an impressive performance at ILMUNC with 24 of the 29 delegates placing, MUN members are prepping for their next competition: the North American Invitational Model United Nations (NAIMUN) conference Valentine’s Day weekend. 

Awards

Best Delegate
Aamir Lacewala
Barak Huang
Alex Yang

Outstanding Delegate
Naila Charania 
David Lowsky 
Alex Solomon 
Anabella Lugo 
Aryan Ranjan 
Logan Kapit 
Tim Esposito 

Honorable Delegate
Treasure D’Souza 
Harrison Krimsky
Melina Marin 
Angelin Matthew 
Alex Plewinski 
Rajat Ramesh
Dylan Riffle 
Zander Mitha 

Verbal Commodation
Justin Folks 
Matthew Gurevich 
Gauri Kasarla 
Jacob Kasner
Sean Kim
Rohit Ramesh

As a senior, Kayla Rubenstein spends her fourth (and heartbreakingly final) year on staff as Online Editor-in-Chief, Business Manager and Social Media Correspondent. Wanting to make the most of her senior year, Kayla serves as the President of Quill and Scroll, Historian of Rho Kappa and Co-Historian of NHS, while also actively participating in EHS and SNHS. Outside of school, Kayla contributes to Mensa’s publications and volunteers with different organizations within her community. An avid reader, Kayla can often be found with her nose in a book when not working on an article for The Patriot Post or developing a project for iPatriot Post.