The Model United Nations (MUN) club traveled to Philadelphia to participate in the thirty-sixth Ivy League Model United Nations Conference (ILMUNC) held in the University of Philadelphia from Jan. 30, 2020 to Feb. 2, 2020. Participants in the club gained experience from this national, four-day conference and learned more about public communication in general. This event hosted 28 separate committees concerning various current events and issues around the world.

“The field trip went super well,” freshman Ari Dixit said, “It was really fun to be in the middle of a new city and experience one of the hardest conferences we go to as a club.”

The MUN students put in a lot of work before going into ILMUNC preparing position papers and refining their public speaking skills.

“It was one of the most challenging and endurance requiring conferences, of the year,” TJ MUN arbitrator Lisa Raj said, “I know a lot of individuals in the club that either found that they had worked hard and it paid off or that they faced a lot of obstacles there and it really helped in their future.” 

Not only was the preparation for conferences difficult, but the competition was also mentally and physically demanding.

“A big thing is that it’s a four-day conference which means that there are hours upon hours of continuous competition, and people really learn how to build up their endurance and stamina in terms of public speaking, working with people, and really just getting things done throughout the conference,” Raj said.

The scale of this conference can be difficult to adjust to, especially for delegates who are not familiar with the MUN format.

“You’re basically speaking in front of around 200 people, especially in your general assembly, so that is quite a lot to take and it helps a lot in getting people out of their comfort zone and teaching them public speaking,” Raj said.

Despite the difficulties, most new MUN members think this challenge is still worth undertaking. 

“Being a freshman, I had a lot of things to learn,” Dixit said, “and I was working alongside and competing against some of the best delegates in the country. I was able to learn so many new things from how to improve my public speaking to working with and leading a large group of people.”

Although MUN may be taxing, participants in the club still enjoy it as a unique experience.

“We have members of over 100 people and I know that every single member is so dedicated and so passionate for the club,” Raj said, “and that’s probably one of my best high school experiences, not to mention, all these other members that had special experiences.”