The Best Middle School Model UN Clubs (alphabetical)
Brentwood School, MS MUN Delegation (California)
Brentwood School students have made much progress during the last two years. They have competed in 16 middle school conferences and have over 60 individual awards and 5 delegation recognitions.
Galapagos Rockford Charter School (Illinois)
The Model UN team at Galapagos this year tackled new challenges head-on. Despite being a new club with new advisors they fully embraced Model UN. They were thoughtful and collaborative.
Lois Hornsby Middle School, Hornsby MUN Team (Virginia)
The Hornsby MUN team is in its second year. It started with a small but dedicated group of students who attended their first conferences virtually during Covid. These students fell in love with MUN and devoted their time to recruiting more team members. The club has since grown to over 20 members who support each other to be “best delegates.” After their final conference, the team creates a completely student-led fundraiser for the UNHCR that is set to raise $2000 this year. Students coordinate with local businesses and motivate the student body to give back to the world around them.
Public Speaking for Teens
Public Speaking for Teens has opened the door for middle school students who would not often have the opportunity to experience Model UN. For many of their students, PSFT has sparked a passion for public speaking that they didn’t know they had. Public Speaking for Teens is committed to helping our young people discover their voice and authentic expression. By partnering with the Best Delegate Model UN conferences, several of their youth have found a way to advocate for themselves and others. They have discovered that their voice matters and they may express themselves through public speaking to make a difference.
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Best Middle School Model UN Conferences (alphabetical)
Red Cedar Model United Nations (RCMUN) at Michigan State University
From a middle school faculty advisor: Prior to our first Red Cedar MUN, the Michigan State students zoomed in and shared their love for MUN with several of my new sixth grade students. They were so inspiring and spoke from the heart and about what MUN has provided them throughout the years. Emily D is exceptional.
Taipei American School Model United Nations (TASMUN)
TASMUN serves as more than a normal MUN conference. The TASMUN conference truly embodies the Sustainable Development Goals, a key principle of the UN. Although TASMUN is a middle school conference, it brings high school and middle school students all around the world together. Its unique and true qualities allows it to be the ‘best’ MS conference.
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Best Middle School Model UN Advisors (alphabetical)
Garrett Stoltz, Drew Middle School (Virginia)
Garrett is a first year teacher who grabbed the opportunity to guide his middle school students through the planning and process of debate and diplomacy. Garrett had over 30 students he helped prepare for our first MUN experience and ended the event with multiple honorable mentions, outstanding and best delegates. The MUN students at Drew Middle School were well-prepared and enthusiastic throughout the experience. I believe their students will be even stronger next year, guided by Garrett Stoltz and his amazing ability to teach and guide while allowing students to think for themselves.
Jennifer Jerrick, Galapagos Rockford Charter School (Illinois)
Ms. Jerrick has jumped in head first as a first-year club leader. She makes Model UN a place everyone wants to be. She is inclusive and thoughtful in her lesson planning. She brings joy to every meeting.
Sara Jackson, Canterbury Middle School (Indiana)
Ms. Jackson is super kind and supportive. She always finds a way to make everything that us students want/need. Ms. Jackson is very organized and planned out to make sure everything goes as planned and if there are mistakes she never hesitates to help.
Rafael Araque, Vermont School (Colombia)
Rafael Araque has been the faculty advisor leading the UN program since 2012 at the Vermont School in Medellín, Colombia. This year marked the tenth anniversary and was a total success. We had around 300 students participating again in a MUN event, even though we thought that after the pandemic it was going to be difficult to return to the MUN committees but this year’s conference exceeded everyone’s expectations. It has been a decade that professor Araque has been preparing, motivating and inspiring 10 generations of students at the Vermont School.
Savanna Kuisle, Taipei American School (Taiwan)
Savanna is a dedicated, encouraging, and excellent MUN coach. Although she does not receive much recognition, her lectures and guidance at the middle school level have helped young students build a solid foundation for future MUN conferences. Students with and without public speaking skills, shy or outgoing, have thrived under her guidance. Her encounters with students inspire them to develop a genuine interest in MUN and diplomacy.
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Best Middle School Model UN Club Leaders (alphabetical)
Destiny Tchiguka, Wings Academy (Ohio)
Even though this student is one of the youngest ones in our group, he has been a leader within the group and organizes chats and meetings outside of school hours to get more research and work completed.
Valeria Cruz, Galapagos Rockford Charter School (Illinois)
Valeria has served her team well as president. She is thoughtful and considerate. She pushes every member of her team to work their hardest and her determination rubs off on everyone around her. She is a natural leader. She is dedicated and passionate about global affairs.
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Best Middle School Model UN Delegates (alphabetical)
Alexis Lee, Lois Hornsby Middle School (Virginia)
Alexis is an enthusiastic, hardworking, and determined student who puts her all into MUN. When Alexis first entered middle school, she did not realize how smart she was. Now, she is a confident young lady who fearlessly leads her peers. As a member of the Hornsby MUN team for two years, she has won Outstanding Delegate, mentored new MUN students, and helped to lead school fundraisers for the UNHCR. For these fundraisers, she leads the marketing committee and assists the business outreach committee to connect with local businesses. There is no student who lives MUN principals more than Ms. Lee.
Anikait Sota, Public Speaking for Teens
When Anikat ” Nik” first started in our program, he had no clue about Model UN or that he would develop a love for public speaking. However, once he started there was no stopping him. He participated in his first Model UN Virtual conference and fell in love. He took the spot of a high school student who had canceled so his first conference was a high school Model UN with Best Delegate and he won for outstanding delegate and after that he was hooked.
Nik exemplifies who a diplomat should be. His eagerness to learn and improve his skills has been exemplary. He would always put his best foot forward and watched all the Best Delegate videos and read all the material to be the best delegate he could be. He is a keen listener, applying feedback for him whether in the field of speaking or writing. He also listens well to his peers, taking in their advice or providing his own while at PSFT sessions. Nik, additionally, has a heart for learning, which will take him far not only in MUN but also in life. His energy while speaking is contagious, and he always seeks to promote solutions that are tangible, doable, and significant in the long-run.
Elijah Searcy, Galapagos Rockford Charter School (lllinois)
Elijah jumped into his first year of Model UN with both feet. Despite being one of the youngest members of his team he tackled challenges with enthusiasm and joy.
JaShiya Fitch, Wings Academy (Ohio)
This student has shown an amazing ability to do research and participate in Model UN. She is a founding figure for our schools Model UN and has been a leading figure in our Model UN group.
Pehel Mehta, Dy Patil International School Worli (India)
She’s extremely deserving as she is always prepared before her MUN and maintains absolute decorum during the conference. Research is her forte. She is extremely confident when she speaks and always honours the chair before speaking.
Sadie Horowitz, Brentwood School (California)
Sadie Horowitz participated in eight conferences this year and won awards at seven of them. Highlights include: Best Delegate at UNAGB Arctic Summit, Best Delegate at HoMMUNC Jr IX, Best Speaker at BUAMUN Avatar Crisis, and Best Negotiator at DIMUN.
Sarah Holt, Providence Day School (North Carolina)
Sarah channels her strong passion for problem solving into thorough preparation and thoughtful participation to make meaningful contributions.
Savannah Duffy, Dixon-Smith Middle School (Virginia)
Savannah took advantage of a global issue for which she has a passion – endangered species. She dug into her research of species and of her country of Australia. It was so enjoyable to watch her confidence build as she formed alliances and spoke with enthusiasm. Savannah won best delegate for her persuasive tone and diplomacy. She truly stood out at our first MUN event. I believe Savannah will be back even stronger next year and will take the desire to serve as a delegate onto high school MUN.
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Best Middle School MUN Project or Initiative
MUN Fundraiser for UNHCR, Lois Hornsby Middle School
During Hornsby MUN’s first year of operation, a student suggested fundraising for refugees after our final conference of the year. The idea came from the student’s participation in the UNHCR conference committee, and the team loved it. In its first year, the team raised $1300. This year, HMSMUN has run a completely student-led fundraiser for refugees. This year, students voted to support Ukrainian refugees and are currently reaching out to local businesses, creating a school art contest, implementing a drawing, and spreading awareness about the refugee crisis in eastern Europe. The team is set to raise over $2000.
