After four months of preparation, UHS Model United Nations (MUN) hosted its annual Spring Conference on March 25. This year’s conference welcomed delegates from 12 different schools with over 250 students attending. The 12th Annual Spring Conference fostered a positive environment and an excellent opportunity for most of the delegates.

The conference was coordinated by co-directors senior Katherine Yu and senior Tracy Le.

“Coordinating the delegates’ grading system and planning the opening ceremony were some of the most complex parts of the process,” Le said.

Although the Spring Conference seemed to be just another conference it marked many firsts. This year, it was made up of eight committees, four novices and four advanced. Unlike the past few years, this year’s conference featured a special Advanced U.S. Senate Committee. Research and Commendation Award-winning freshman Divya Agarwal talks about her experiences with her first crisis committee. 

“I did crisis committee for the first time, which is more fast-paced than regular committees,” Agarwal said. “This improved my problem-solving skills because I had to think and come up with a solution quickly after crisis updates, as well as how to problem-solve and multi-task.”

First-year UHS MUN delegate sophomore Yihan Wang expressed her positive experience debating in the Advanced U.S. Senate Committee. 

“I learned how to develop my critical thinking skills, build confidence and work together cooperatively with fellow delegates in unmoderated groups,” Wang said. “It helped me see how every topic has a diverse range of opinions and I am excited to participate in future conferences so [that] I am not ignorant of relevant topics that circulate in our society today.”

Although novice committees were a starting point to further develop one’s speaking skills, they also housed proficient debaters. Outstanding Award winner sophomore Deya Nurani provided insight into the valuable experiences gained through this year’s Spring Conference.

“I got to work in a committee full of really driven and prepared kids who felt passionate about coming to a worthwhile resolution for, in our case, the gray area of free speech and censorship in the digital world,” Nurani said. “Having the chance to immediately adapt to that and balance listening to the ideas of those around me while sharing and advocating my own was something that I didn’t know I could handle . . . I’m glad I got this chance to prove it to myself!”

While some delegates found the conference to be rather helpful for strengthening their speaking skills, others reported the relaxed and cheerful atmosphere of the conference. Junior Eune Chu, a crisis debater who was able to earn a Research Award, explained her being nervous at first but later on, enjoying the conference after all. 

“Fellow delegates were pretty chill as well,” Chu said. “I thought I’d be constantly on edge, but the atmosphere was as normal as MUN atmospheres could go: minimal small talk but polite interactions. I actually enjoyed the conference more than I thought I would. The committee allowed a lot of flexibility and creative direction for where I could take my crisis arc.”

New and seasoned delegates alike were satisfied with their performance. UHS MUN mentors reflected positively on the outcome. 

“I was able to see how confident UHS delegates have become,” Le said. “They’ve become much more open with their country or character stances and definitely took a lot more risks. I also feel like [research] paper quality improved massively. Some of my mentees had vast improvement and it was cool to see that.”