Radnor High School's Model UN Team in D.C.

The Radnor High School Model United Nations team is a team comprised of sophomores, juniors, and seniors who make it through the rigorous application and competitive selection process.

Model UN is a program that simulates the workings of the actual United Nations committees. Some committees that students may serve on while at Model UN conferences are the committee for Disarmament and Securities (DISEC), the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (SPECPOL), and the Legal committee which tackles issues of international law and policies.

Students may also serve on historic committees (such as the Soviet Politburo of 1945), futuristic committees (such as the Nuclear NPT Review of 2015), various councils, summits and courts (such as a council of the Mexican drugs cartels, or a summit of the Cardinals). These conferences attract thousands of students from around the globe and create a forum for debate that is unparalleled. Model United Nations combines public speaking, a developed knowledge of world affairs, writing, and other good life skills.

Radnor’s Model United Nations team is advised by Mr. Kenneth Sklar and Mr. Richard Dunbar, both teachers in Radnor’s History department. The club is run by senior officers; President Shaan Pattni, Vice President James Carino, as well as Bridget Slattery and Jamie Gorson. Each year club members elect four rising seniors to officer positions, and the new officers run tryouts for the following year’s prospective members. Radnor’s Model UN team attends four conferences annually with three being mandatory for all members but the officers who must attend all four. The conferences are PMUNC (Princeton’s Model United Nations Conference) held in December, YMUN (Yale’s Model United Nations [conference]) held in January, NAIMUN (the North Atlantic Invitational Model United Nations [conference]) held in February, and NHSMUN (the National High School Model United Nations [conference]) held in March.  

This past weekend Radnor’s Model UN team attended NAIMUN, the North American Invitation Model United Nations conference. NAIMUN is staffed and run by Georgetown University students, and is held at the Washington Hilton. NAIMUN brings together over 3,000 students from over two dozen countries and as many states. Radnor had delegates representing the nation of Egypt and the Kingdom of Cambodia, as well as serving on a number of special committees. About one-third of the Radnor students who attended the conference were recognized for their excellence by winning awards. The award system is structured bottom to top in the following way: Verbal Commendation, Honorable Mention, Outstanding Delegate, Best Delegate.

Junior Christopher Merken and Senior Drew Calamaro won Verbal Commendations, Seniors Shaan Pattni and Jamie Gorson and Juniors Dan Michelson and Griffin Unger won Honorable Mentions, and Juniors Christopher Blazey and Shaiba Rather won Outstanding Delagate awards.

Radnor was also presented with a rare opportunity to attend the Egyptian Embassy for an embassy briefing. These trips are extremely hard to set up due to security and time restraints. At the 2011 NAIMUN conference, Radnor delegates attended an embassy briefing at the Saudi Arabian embassy. This year, the Egyptian government was willing to host Radnor’s twenty-seven students and three advisors. For over an hour and a half two members of the Egyptian diplomatic corps spoke to the students, answering questions and sharing their thoughts on such issues as the tumultuous shifting of government in Egypt, international trade, security between Egypt and Israel, and much more.

Radnor’s Model UN club is preparing feverishly for the NHSMUN conference, which is just a few weeks away. However NAIMUN 2012 is a conference that no delegate will forget.