The Murray State University Model United Nations Team earned four awards at the Midwest Model UN Conference, held in St. Louis, Missouri, from February 18 to 21. The team received three position paper awards and an honorable mention for outstanding delegation.
Oumou Baba Diombele and Landyn Dotson represented Haiti in the UN Trade and Development committee, focusing on women’s roles in small businesses and regional free trade areas. Nate Allbritten and Ramsey Watson also represented Haiti in the General Assembly Second Committee, which addressed agricultural development for food security and digital economy issues related to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8. In the UN Environment Assembly, Nate Hunt and Madeline West focused on SDG 6—access to water—and sustainable mineral resource governance.
The team of Laney Evans, Sam Jackanicz, Claire McCormick, Gracie Tomolonis, and Aiden Wild received an honorable mention for outstanding delegation while representing Australia.
Dr. Brittany Wood, assistant professor of political science and faculty advisor to the team, said: “Our Model UN team has been preparing for this conference since August, dedicating countless hours to research, debate and collaboration. Their hard work, discipline and commitment to excellence have truly paid off, and I could not be more proud of what they have accomplished.”
Dr. Marc Polizzi, associate professor and chair of the political science and sociology departments at Murray State University, added: “The conference served as an opportunity for students to tackle complex global issues and to negotiate with delegations from other universities. The students distinguished themselves as outstanding representatives of Murray State. They collaborated effectively with the other schools, illustrating their diplomatic skills. They consistently stepped out of their comfort zones and put forth their best efforts throughout the conference. I was proud to see their maturity, teamwork and dedication.”
More than 35 delegations from 29 universities participated in this year’s event.
Team members representing Australia included Sam Jackanicz (Trenton, Florida), Laney Evans (Calvert City, Kentucky), Claire McCormick (Shumway, Illinois), Aiden Wild (Almo, Kentucky), and Gracie Tomolonis (Paris, Tennessee). Those representing Haiti were Oumou Baba Diombele (Bamako, Mali), Ali Khatib (Murray, Kentucky), Nathaniel Hunt (Bethalto, Illinois), Landyn Dotson (Mount Vernon, Illinois), Josselyn Hernandez (Huntingdon, Tennessee), Madeline West (Owensboro, Kentucky), Ramsey Watson (Henderson, Kentucky), and Nate Allbritten (Paducah, Kentucky).
