Months of research, preparation and hard work finally paid off for the CHS representatives at the Stanford Model United Nations Conference, held Nov. 10-12. CHS won the Best Model UN award, while four Coyotes won individual awards.

“This is the first team award that we’ve won,” said MUN advisor, Bradley Boelman. “We’ve won many many individual awards, but this is the first time as a team. Each person that competed contributed to an overall score and we’ve never done that before and especially at someplace like Stanford—it’s a huge deal.”

The CHS Model UN team engaged in a three-day political conference where they showcased their research and debating skills. Junior Ethan Lee won theHonorable Mention Award, juniors Alex Cohen and Sanath Sengupta each won a Research Award, and junior David Shats won Best Delegate.

“We have very gifted researchers,” said Boelman. “The research was great and the students that won for their representation put everything into it. They are not only natural MUN students, but they are also brilliant and creative kids who can think on the fly.”

Boelman also believes that genuine interest and motivation played a huge role in the team’s success. However, despite months of rigorous preparation, Lee admits to being surprised by this colossal win because of the high prestige of the event and the tough competition from well-seasoned opponents from across the continent. Students hailing from places as far as Mexico, Nebraska and Florida represented their schools and cities in an attempt to demonstrate their political competence.

Model UN allows students to learn how to research and find compromises to complicated situations without letting personal bias affect their actions. The MUN board assigns everyone a topic and a point of view which they must use to reach a resolution.

“Topics can range from global issues, like global warming or climate change, to more domestic issues, like Black Lives Matter,” said junior Obtin Zandian.

Participants either represent the general national views of a country or the specific views of an influential person. While Zandian represented Poland in the United Nations Environmental Program, Lee represented Clarence Thomas in the Black Lives Matter Committee.

Despite their early victories, members of the CHS Model UN team remain ambitious and continue to push for further success. In the future, they hope to travel nationally and participate in conferences on the East Coast.