The Thomas Jefferson Model United Nations Club (TJMUN) hosted its annual conference, TechMUN, from April 10-11. This year, the conference attracted hundreds of high school and middle school students from several counties in the area for a weekend of intensive debate, resolution-writing and tackling real-world scenarios.

Jefferson students chaired and staffed 19 different committees including three middle school committees and six crisis committees. Just like in any other Model United Nations (MUN) Conference, the committees ranged from General Assembly committees, that mirror the United Nations agencies such as the Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC), to crisis committees in which delegates react to changing scenarios as members of the European Union or in made up universes.

“The chairs, directors and czars did their best to reflect the quality of the college-run conferences that we attend throughout the year,” junior Shohini Gupta said. “Although TechMUN has some technical difficulties, we wanted to make sure that the real committee experience for the delegates was one of the highest quality we could offer.”

The award ceremony commended many individual students on their achievements and resolutions throughout the weekend. Beyond individuals, schools as a whole were also given awards. The Secretary General’s Awards for Best and Outstanding Large Delegation were awarded to Langley High School and McLean High School respectively. The Secretary General’s Awards for Best and Outstanding Small Delegation went to Garfield High School and Edison High School respectively. In addition, the Secretary General’s Award for Best Middle School went to Kilmer Middle School with Carson Middle School getting the Secretary General’s Award for Outstanding Middle School.

“Each and every one of the delegates worked incredibly hard and deserved the awards that showcase their efforts,” senior Aidan Hennessey- Niland said. “We, the secretariat, couldn’t be happier with the hard work and dedication of our staff put into the conference.”

The TJMUN team has been working tirelessly on TechMUN for the past few months, planning every thing to the last detail. This conference was the last conference of the school year.

“Though we attend numerous conferences every year, it’s hard to truly appreciate how much work is put into making a successful conference until we see it from the opposite perspective,” junior Will Ryu said. “Having the opportunity to be part of the team preparing TechMUN for months, and seeing the efforts pay off this weekend has been amazing. We received many compliments regarding our level of professionalism in running the conference, and chairing a committee myself, it was personally a great experience to see everyone enjoy debate with no problems incurring.”