The Best High School Model UN Clubs, Advisors, and Projects of 2021-2022 recognizes exceptional efforts and accomplishments in those categories.
Nominations were submitted by advisors and student leaders from around the world during an open call period for nominations in late April, and this list of honorees was selected by a BestDelegate.com editorial panel. Descriptions were provided by the nominators.
Congratulations to all the honorees, and to all MUN advisors and participants around the world for their efforts in bringing out the best in each other in Model United Nations this school year.
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Best High School Model UN Clubs 2021-22 (alphabetical)
Calabasas High School Model UN Club (California)
CHS Model UN Club is an elite MUN club that consistently performs at the highest level. During the 2021-2022 school year, CHS MUN won Best Small Delegation at NAIMUN, the most competitive high school MUN Conference in the Western Hemisphere. Every single delegate won an individual award at this hyper-competitive conference. CHS MUN also won Best Small Delegation at GauchoMUN. This school year, they also hosted their own Model UN Conference at Calabasas High School called Mulholland MUN, where they conducted a conference that served all MUN teams in the West San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. During the 2020-2021 school year, in the middle of global pandemic, CHS MUN won 6 delegation awards: Best Large Delegation at CMCMUN, SCMUN, SMUNC, and GEOMUN, Best Small at BMUN, and Outstanding Small at MUNUM.
Doral Academy Preparatory (Florida)
Doral Academy’s Model UN club has grown so much over the years and has gone through much rebuilding, which has paid off in these past few years as they have dominated the South Florida circuit. They continuously put so much effort, dedication, and work which has created some of the most passionate delegates on the circuit. Every person that comes out of this club leaves with an impactful mark as every member truly demonstrates determination and the power to create change within themselves and with the people around them. The amount of awards that Doral Academy has accumulated over the years does not define how great this team has become; rather, the amount of passionate delegates that put so much time into it displays the dedication of club members. The amount of students that consider Doral Academy Model UN as one of their homes is what makes this team strive for greatness in order to pass on the legacy for continuously improving generations for Doral Academy Model UN.
High School for Dual Language and Asian Studies Model UN Club (New York)
HSDLASMUN is an 100% student run independent club that has been around since November 2019. HSDLASMUN had to survive through the pandemic on its own with little help or funding Unfortunately, our school provides us with no help or funding and we have had to survive through the pandemic all by ourselves. HDLASMUN is also a relatively small delegation, with around 9-12 active members at a given time. However, HSDLASMUN packs a mighty punch, having participated in a total of 31 conferences (3 in-person and 28 online) since its creation and accumulated a total of 45 awards (including delegation and delegate awards). Additionally, to strengthen our parliamentary procedure and to get a better idea of how MUN is run, they hold their own virtual conference, DLMUNC. Furthermore, to give back to their community, HSDLASMUN has done over 200 hours of community service as a club.
Kettle Run High School (Virginia)
Kettle Run High School is a small delegation that brings heart, teamwork and diplomacy wherever they go. They have won the Best Small Delegation Award at both college and high school conferences. They are the most proud to win the Diplomacy Award, because to them it’s a reflection of who they are as people. They compete against big schools, who often bring upwards of 100 people, but Kettle Run comes with teamwork, friendship and spirit that can’t be measured by an award.
North Penn Model UN (Pennsylvania)
Following a year of having less than ten recurring members, North Penn MUN was able to double their number of members. This year, North Penn MUN club won a Best Delegate, Outstanding Delegate, and an Outstanding Small Delegation award. Through our experiences together this year, we all really grew together both as delegates, and as people. Though these were small wins, they will forever make a big impact on our club.
St. Ignatius Model United Nations (Illinois)
SIMUN won Best Large Delegation at all 8 conferences we attended (CSMUN, GTMUN, MUNAP, CIMUN, NAIMUN, LYMUN, FIMUN, and EAGLEMUNC). Further, SIMUN hosted SIMUN XX (900+ delegates, 40 committees), and PACKMUN (for junior high school students). At NAIMUN, 28 of the 30 delegates that participated from SIMUN won awards. SIMUN is also very large and inclusive, welcoming any student who wants to participate. In addition, the SIMUN culture is very supportive and cultivates a great team spirit. SIMUN has learned together what true diplomacy is all about: working together in a spirit of support, compromise, listening and respectful discussion.
West Windsor-Plainsboro South MUN (New Jersey)
WWP SouthMUN has taken home many delegation and individual awards at high level college competitions like PMUNC, YMUN, MITMUNC, among others. Further, WWP SouthMUN also fosters a strong level of community within the club itself. SouthMUN also hosts SOUTHMUNC, a fantastic high-school level conference.
Best High School Model UN Advisors 2021-22 (alphabetical)
Brad Boelman, Calabasas High School (California)
Mr. Boelman is a fantastic MUN advisor. He devotes countless hours to the program after-school, often without any pay. He will lead after-school training sessions until 5:00PM up to four times a week, zoom with students to help them prepare for conferences during the weekend, and give up his lunches and before school hours daily to help MUN students prepare for conferences, run meetings, and stage delegate training. He has lead the team to 6 delegation awards in 2020-2022 (including Best Large Delegation at Stanford, CMCMUN, and SCMUN and Best Small at BMUN) and 2 delegation awards in 2021-2022 (including Best Small Delegation at NAIMUN and GauchoMUN).
Chad Wright, Kettle Run High School (Virginia)
Chad Wright has selflessly changed the lives of his students and given opportunities for leadership and growth that are hard to express in 100 words. Chad is the only MUN advisor in Fauquier County public schools, and without his dedication and commitment, there would be no MUN opportunities for our children. Chad gives up his personal family time to train delegates who truly value MUN, noticeably changing their lives for the better.
Diane Haleas, Saint Ignatius College Prep (Illinois)
Diane Haleas has built the national powerhouse that is SIMUN across 20 years, using her expertise in managing the personalities and skill sets of her delegates and conducting club activity to build a factory of success. This year, the SIMUN team only added to that under Ms. Haleas’ lead, arranging emotionally energizing team bonding activities that built the team into a family willing to compete for each other while meticulously arranging a slew of prep conferences and practice simulations to personally tailor each delegate for what they would need in committee. Ms. Haleas bright and motivating presence has made SIMUN the largest club at Saint Ignatius, with many excited to join just for her, then subsequently being morphed into titans of debate through the tracks she has created.
Father Patrick Migisho, Saint Ignatius College Prep (Illinois)
Father Patrick Migisho, the chaperone for Saint Ignatius College Prep, is the newest priest at our school. He truly brought his team together during some of their lowest moments at NAIMUN this year. He has become a parental figure for his team, inspiring them to do their best and do it with love for each other in our hearts!
Juan David Sanchez, International Studies Preparatory Academy (Florida)
Mr. Sanchez is extremely excited and dedicated to his club, coordinating with student club leaders to execute meetings and other activities. He is helpful, good-natured, competent, and encouraging. He always has a smile on his face and is a great help when the members were writing position papers. His joy and comedy set the club members at ease during meetings when they were stepping out of their comfort zones, and kept the meetings lively. Overall, his dedication to Model UN is commendable and valuable.
Robert Parker, St. Margaret’s Episcopal School (California)
Mr. Parker is an incredible club advisor. He is incredibly knowledgeable about the ins and outs of MUN and serves as a great resource at every conference. He is essentially an encyclopedia of global knowledge and is always willing to answer and expand on any questions. Mr. Parker has been working as an MUN advisor for at least two decades by now and has continued to be just as excited and ready to help as ever. He always knows the best conferences and is determined to help all his students succeed no matter their level. Mr. Parker truly is a fantastic advisor.
Best High School Model UN Projects 2021-22 (alphabetical)
All Are Welcome –– Kettle Run High School (Virginia)
Kettle Run is the only high school in Fauquier County public schools that offers MUN. Under the leadership of Chad Wright and President Hazen Griffin, the Kettle Run MUN team has advocated and solicited to open their club to any local high school students who would like to join. Their goal is that no student should be denied opportunity or limited because of “districting” or financial concerns. Their hope is to create more interest in MUN and encourage all high schools to offer a club, and have advocated to the school board to reward advisors with stipends. All are welcome!
Deleglobe Immersive Program (Brazil)
Led by a fearless Brazilian student, Deleglobe Immersive Program is a true innovation not only in Brazil but also wherever it can reach. Teaching in 3 different languages, depending on the student’s location, its goal of expanding horizons for ambitious MUN students to better access international opportunities has been accomplished successfully. Founded last year, it mainly trained Brazilian (but also Colombian, American, and Chinese) students for the top conferences in the world through group classes, dynamics, lectures with internationally awarded delegates, and more. They reached success after having 100% of their students awarded at HMUN and 60% awarded at YMUN. Training them 100% for free, and the organization is proud to have made history in their very first year.
Instituto DiploMUN (Brazil)
Instituto Diplomun is an organization that aims to democratize Model UN conferences, diplomacy and soft-skills. Through activities – such as DiploMUN Online, Diplocamp, BaMUN, workshops, courses and mentorships – they enhance fundamental skills, exploring the core of their intrapersonal and interpersonal development. They currently impact more than 14,000 young people from 28 countries around the world through their events and more than 300,000 people through the reach of social media. In addition, they are known for organizing one of the largest conferences in Latin America and as one of the most awarded Brazilian delegations in the history of Harvard MUN.
