By Rebecca J. Flavin, lecturer in political science and Model UN advisor

Last week, 17 Baylor students traveled to New York to participate in the National Model United Nations Conference, which brings together more than 5,000 college students from around the world to participate in two week-long simulations of the United Nations. Our students represented the nations of Slovakia and South Africa, and they discussed issues such as the illicit trade of small arms, international drug trafficking, food security and the nuclear situation in North Korea, along with other topics.

At the conference, all of our students excelled and represented Baylor well. While the learning experience is always the most important part of these conferences, and awards are not the emphasis of the conference or our team, I am proud to announce that the entire team was recognized as an “Honorable Mention Delegation.” Only a small percentage of delegations receive any recognition as an Outstanding, Distinguished or Honorable Mention Delegation at this conference, so this is a noteworthy achievement.

In addition to the team recognition, several students’ individual accomplishments deserve specific mention. Mariam Erkin (senior, International Studies), Laurabeth Hooper (sophomore, International Studies), Sharita Khaira (senior, International Studies) and Tyler Kopas (junior, Professional Selling and Baylor MUN Head Delegate) were recognized as “Outstanding Delegates” by their committees. This is the highest award that an individual student can be given at a Model UN conference.

In addition to the in-committee award, Khaira and Kopas were also recognized with an Outstanding Position Paper award. The position paper is a short policy memo researched and prepared in advance of the conference.

I’d like to give special thanks to the Department of Political Science, the Department of International Studies and the College of Arts & Sciences for providing generous financial support enabling us to take these students to the conference. I’m proud to say that this support makes Baylor Model UN a truly merit-based team, meaning any student who earns a spot on the team is able to attend, regardless of his or her personal financial resources.

The Baylor Model United Nations 2013 NMUN Traveling Team includes: Kelsie Benjamin (senior, Political Science); Ben Betner (junior, Political Science); Tiffany Clark (graduate student in International Relations); Brady Desko (senior, Economics); Logan Dewitt (senior, Political Science); Mariam Erkin (senior, International Studies); Ruth Anne Holiday (sophomore, International Studies); Laurabeth Hooper (sophomore, International Studies); Sharita Khaira (sophomore, International Studies); Tyler Kopas (junior, Baylor Model UN head delegate, Professional Sales major); Cagney McCauley (senior, Baylor Model UN assistant head delegate, Biology major); Adi Raj (senior, University Scholar); Renie Saenz (freshman, History); Brent Salter (senior, Journalism/International Studies); Paul Schlaudraff (junior, Baylor Business Fellows/Accounting); Anthony Severin (junior, Political Science); and Dimitri Vaynshteyn (senior, Political Science).