On February 18, 2018, the All-American Model United Nations team won its third consecutive Best Small Delegation award at the North American Invitational Model United Nations (NAIMUN) conference. And with it, we close the chapter of competing at Georgetown’s championship conference.

The 2018 Best Small Delegation at NAIMUN LV.

The NAIMUN conference has been the defacto national championship conference over the past three years, drawing top schools from across the country. No other competitive US conference has a higher ratio of top tier teams attending, edging out other major conferences such as Princeton’s PMUNC, Harvard’s HMUN, and Penn’s ILMUNC.

The All-American Model UN team won Best Small Delegation with different sized delegations each of the past three years:

• NAIMUN LIII: 8 delegates/6 positions – 2 Best, 1 Honorable, 1 Verbal
• NAIMUN LIV: 10 delegates/8 positions- 3 Best, 1 Outstanding, 1 Honorable, 1 Verbal
• NAIMUN LV: 13 delegates/9 positions-  2 Best, 2 Outstanding, 1 Honorable, 1 Verbal

We first brought a team to NAIMUN for two reasons. First, we wanted to prove that our teams’ success internationally was not a fluke; we wanted to show that our teams could win at even the most competitive conferences in the US. Second, our students wanted to go to NAIMUN, even if their schools were not attending.

But now, our steak will come to an end. The All-American Model UN Programs will not be sending a team to NAIMUN in 2019.

Again, multiple reasons stand behind this decision. Going back to our motivation to attend in the first place, we have proven to ourselves that our teams can keep pace with the best. More than that, though, we want to reaffirm our commitment to the Model UN community. To do so, we should encourage school programs to win delegation awards in any way possible.

On a more personal note, the work and commitment that all of the students with whom I’ve worked at NAIMUN has inspired me to work harder for them. The community that we share provides a constant source of motivation, and for that, I can’t think of anything more appropriate to say than thank you.

All-American NAIMUN Teams

Alexandra Albanese (St. Vincent St. Mary, OH)
Quaid Childers (Walton Payton College Prep, IL)
Katherine Cohen (Gulliver Prep, FL)
Mikey Dianetti (St. Vincent St. Mary, OH)- Best Delegate (NAIMUN LV), Outstanding Delegate (NAIMUN LIV)
Alexandros Economou (Glenbrook South, IL)- Verbal Commendation (NAIMUN LIV)
John Fernandez (Greenwich High School, CT)
Fiona Gaffney (St. Vincent St. Mary, OH)- Outstanding Delegate (NAIMUN LV)
Mauricio Garcia Gojon (Portsmouth Abbey School, RI)- Best Delegate (NAIMUN LV)
Gaurang Goel (Loomis Chaffee, CT)- Best Delegate (NAIMUN LIV)
Samm Griffith (Troy Athens High School, MI)
Arlo Halpern (The Bay School of San Francisco, CA)
Bobby Hobart (The Bay School of San Francisco, CA)- Best Delegate (NAIMUN LIV)
Emma Hopler (Wyomissing Jr/Sr High School, PA)- Honorable Mention (NAIMUN LV)
Aditya Iyengar (Wooton High School, MD)- Best Delegate (NAIMUN LIV)
Rose Jacobs (Walton Payton College Prep, IL)- Honorable Mention (NAIMUN LIII)
Nikhil Kassum (Upper Canada College, ON)
Shai Lofdahl-Fruchter (Princeton Day School, NJ)- Outstanding Delegate (NAIMUN LV)
Robbie Mathern (St. Vincent St. Mary, OH)
Jennifer Min (McLean High School, VA)
Christian Rodriquez (Bergen County Academies, NJ)- Best Delegate (NAIMUN LIII), Honorable Delegate (NAIMUN LIV, NAIMUN LV)
Zoe Schenk (Inglemoor High School, WA)- Verbal Commendation (NAIMUN LV)
Tengi Shiga (Hononegah Community High School, IL)
Faiz Syed (George Walton Comprehensive High School, GA)- Verbal Commendation (NAIMUN LIV)
Evan Torrisi (Red Hook High School, NY)- Best Delegate (NAIMUN LIII)
Casey Wang (Eagles Landing Christian Academy, GA)- Verbal Commendation (NAIMUN LII)
Lily Zimeng Liu (Loomis Chaffee School, CT)- Verbal Commendation (NAIMUN LIV)

Frank is the founder of the All-American Model UN Programs. He has been involved in Model UN activities for over 15 years. He can be reached best by email at [email protected] or by phone by calling 617-702-4888.