By Makayla Wolins and Sahana Bhat

This year, the annual Model United Nations (MUN) trip took place from January 22nd to January 25th. Although cut a day short by the snowstorm, delegates in RCDS’ Model United Nations club travelled to Philadelphia, where they participated in five committee sessions to discuss a wide range of global and historical issues. Students debated pressing challenges, but also had time to relax and meet new people on the trip.

Zara Khemlani ‘27, one of the leaders of RCDS’ MUN club,  appreciates how the MUN trip encourages participants to dive deeper and become truly knowledgeable in their specific subjects. She highly recommends the trip as a great opportunity to develop “collaborative skills, critical thinking, and public speaking capabilities.” She especially enjoys meeting delegates from other schools and coming together to debate issues they are all passionate about. Students debated a range of historical and global issues such as the fall of Long Term Capital Management, Cryptocurrency and Navigating Trade Uncertainty, Combating Gender-Based Violence, and many other pressing topics. Recalling her favorite part of the event, Khemlani shared that it was the midnight crisis committee session. “Delegates were woken up to attend an additional committee meeting at 12:30 AM, meaning that some students showed up in suits and others arrived in pajamas. Although exhausted from two days of rigorous debate, the group bonded over the shared challenge.” She added that the pizza at the end of the session was a memorable bonus. Unfortunately, due to a snowstorm, the RCDS team had to leave a day earlier, so they missed the final committee session and awards ceremony. However, she is extremely grateful to the event staff,  whose efforts allowed the delegates to have  a meaningful and positive experience. Khemlani was delighted to not only make friendships with international students but also strengthen the bonds with their RCDS delegates.

Alicia Levy ‘29 had an enlightening experience on the trip. She also recommends participating in Model United Nations conferences to other students because “not only is it a fun experience to do with friends, it is also a great opportunity to meet new people.” The MUN trip helped Levy build her public speaking skills, which she considers a critical skill to master. Levy also had the opportunity to learn about different topics in the world. She believed that everybody had a strong understanding of their chosen topics, and she was able to connect with others over these topics. She learned lots of important skills and lessons that she will carry back into the RCDS community.

The conference included meeting dozens of delegates from other schools as well, which meant that the trip was a great way to learn about different ideas and hear different perspectives from other students. For Levy, there were many high points of the trip, including double delegating with her friends and joining a resolution to solve her problem. She felt that she could express her opinions and that they were truly valued. The only low point for Levy was that the trip was cut short because of the winter storm. Upon reflection, Levy said that she grew a lot through being in MUN, especially in her ability to retain knowledge and then share it with other people. She also had the opportunity to tour the University of Pennsylvania and hear from the committee chairs of UPenn and their experiences as well. 

This MUN trip was a great opportunity to build skills, develop new connections, and grow bonds within and beyond the RCDS community. Based on the feedback and enthusiasm of this year’s delegates, we expect that this program will continue to excite the RCDS Upper School community.