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