Novices sweep at Vanderbilt

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Seniors Sofia Godoy and Laila Inan, alongside sophomores Angelin Mathew, Laila Charania, Gauri Kasalra and Zaneer Mitha, hold up their respective awards after the conclusion of WHSMUN. (All photos/Kenzo Kimura and Shirley Wong)

In a weekend full of fall foliage and gavels, student delegates put their best foot forward at the Vanderbilt University Model United Nations conference (VUMUN), which took place Nov. 2-4.

Out of the 20 students in attendance, 17 came home with awards. The school also won the award for “Best Small Delegation,” which is only awarded to one team of twenty or less out of every school in attendance.

Aside from attending committee sessions and working out resolutions, the team saw multiple Heritage alumni, including Rahul Regula, Skylar Britton, Gabriel Hinojosa and Andrew Kolondra (all ‘18).

The VUMUN roster contained mainly novices, or delegates that have never been to or have been to very few Model UN conferences in the past. Junior Rohit Ramesh participated in American Heritage Plantation Model UN (AHPMUN) for the past two years and Miami International Conference for the Simulation of the United Nations (MICSUN) last year, but VUMUN was his first overnight trip.

“Being that VUMUN was my second traveling conference, it felt great to win best delegate,” Ramesh said. “It gave me a great opportunity to shine, but I know that I have to continue the momentum in future conferences.”

Here is the full list of winners:

Best Delegate: Juliette Reyes, Hijaan Mitha, Mikhal Ben-Joseph, Rohit Ramesh, Alexander Plewinski, Jacob Kasner

Outstanding Delegate: Sophia Ortega Mora, Benjamin Taubman, Melina Marin

Honorable Delegate: Harrison Krimsky, Rajat Ramesh

Verbal Commendation: Dylan Riffle, Sean Kim, Pavitpaul Makkar, Cinzia Barraco, Eric Bazail, Thomas Lovegren

Joanne is a senior at American Heritage School in Plantation, Fla. As a third-year staffer and second-year editor-in-chief, she loves immersing herself in the journalistic field and writing for her publications. Outside of newspaper, Joanne is also co-president of the English Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta math honor society, where she also serves as the student delegate state secretary. Among the other clubs she is a part of, Joanne is also secretary of the linguistics team and Chinese Honor Society, as well as treasurer for Quill and Scroll. In her free time, Joanne loves practicing her photography and going to concerts.