This guest article was submitted by Ethan Lee, the Founder and President of the Calabasas High School Model UN Team from 2016 to 2019. Ethan is currently a freshman at Stanford University.
At first glance, the Calabasas Model UN team may appear to be more than three years old. The team received Best Large Delegation at The University of Southern California’s SCMUN and Stanford University’s SMUNC in 2018. In February 2019, Calabasas came in third out of all small delegations at Georgetown University’s NAIMUN LVI—their first conference outside of California. But upon its founding three years ago, the team was off to a rocky start.
Calabasas High School, a public school right outside of Los Angeles, had never maintained a serious Model UN program before 2016. When the program began as a club that year and attended its first conference hosted by Cerritos High School, no one, including founding faculty advisor Mr. Boelman, had prior experience running a Model UN team.
One unique aspect of the team can be found in its formation. While the team only meets once a week during lunch, it has been able to foster a strong sense of community by connecting students and empowering them to grow in conference settings. Calabasas delegates make up a motley team, with each student coming from diverse backgrounds and maintaining various interests outside of school, but are united by their enthusiasm for Model UN. Part of their DNA is that they bring together students who one might not necessarily expect to participate in Model UN.
The team has been able to grow so quickly over the past few years due to its focus on recruitment and novice training. It actively recruits underclassmen delegates by communicating with faculty from both Calabasas High School and feeder middle schools. In addition, the team hosts optional after-school training sessions that often include committee simulations on current events and less-serious, often entertaining topics, to engage students. The team has season fundraisers with local restaurants to raise funds for upcoming conferences, and often organizes team dinners and brainstorming sessions around them. By fostering Model UN thought in unconventional settings, team members unwittingly contribute to their peers’ research as a group-effort, minimizing the amount of time spent preparing for committee as an individual.
It was this cohesive spirit that drove the team even in times of hardship. When competing at SMUNC in late 2018, the team managed to rally together and succeed amidst the Woolsey Fire. The fire forced mandatory evacuations throughout all of Calabasas, threatening and decimating the homes of many team members, family, and friends.
The success of the program comes from the philosophy that students will reap what they sow. According to Mr. Boelman, “Our success is measured by consistent improvement in committee at each conference. We are strong believers that the best way to improve at Model UN is to compete as often as possible.” Another important component of the team is in its willingness to participate in a wide array of committees and topics. Team members at Calabasas are encouraged to participate in large GAs, specialized committees, and crisis, becoming a more well-rounded delegate, rather than a specialist.
The future looks bright for the Calabasas Model UN team this upcoming school year, with a packed conference list consisting of local and national conferences that include Stanford University’s SMUNC, UCLA’s BruinMUN, and UC Berkeley’s BMUN. The team is excited to expand to new students on campus as a newly recognized team in the United States by All-American Model UN.
