Delegates from middle and high schools all over the Northern Virginia area gathered for the ninth annual Gar-Field Model United Nations Conference (GFMUNC), hosted at Gar-Field High School on Jan. 18.

This was the third conference for the Jefferson Model United Nations club (TJMUN), and the second conference for the club within the month of January. Delegates participated in a variety of committees, ranging from the World Food Programme to the United Nations Security Council.

TJMUN brought seven three Best Delegate awards, commonly known as “gavels,” in addition to the award for the top school performance at the conference, the Secretary-General’s award for Best Large Delegation.  Gavels went to seniors Arjun Iyer, Ashwin Basana, Yena Seo, Carolyn Ours and Varun Jain, juniors Gavin Moore and Noah Shin, sophomores Claire Scoggins, Cheryl Mensah and Rushi Shah, and freshmen Nora Thompson and Laura Chu.

“I was so proud and happy because this was concrete proof to myself that had work and persistence pays off,” Mensah said.

The next conference for the club will be the championship-level conference, the Ivy League Model United Nations Conference (ILMUNC), on Jan. 30-Feb. 2, in Philadelphia, Pa.

“I’ve just been getting more and more excited for ILMUNC and I am most definitely going to give it my all and represent TJMUN to the best of my ability,” Mensah said. “I love MUN and I love our club.”