NMH Team Excels at Harvard Model UN Conference

Fifteen students from NMH’s Model UN team recently traveled to Boston to compete at the 72nd annual Harvard Model United Nations Conference, with three members receiving awards for their performance. 

One of the most prestigious Model UN events in the world, the Harvard conference drew 3,500 participants from over 50 countries together from Jan. 30 through Feb. 2.

“The Harvard MUN is truly a world premier conference,” said faculty advisor Tiffany Thiri. “It's massive and extremely well run. The level of debate is extraordinary: These are young people debating some of the most complex global issues.”

Students tackled a host of global issues and challenges over the course of the conference, from educational equity for girls to communicable diseases, maritime piracy, and environmental concerns. The NMH contingent mostly represented the country of Angola in simulations, with several students serving individually on specialized committees. Team members delivered speeches, engaged in rapid-fire debates, and negotiated with delegations from other schools to achieve their desired outcomes. 

Priya Chatterjee ’25 and Kelvin Cheung ’25 each received a Diplomatic Commendation award. Chatterjee was recognized for her work to address global debt and default prevention on the International Monetary Fund Committee, while Cheung was cited for his efforts in the Economic and Financial Affairs Council, where he contributed to discussions on trade inefficiencies and economic recoveries.

Sam Robbins ’26 received an award for Outstanding Delegate for his performance on behalf of Angola in the African Union Committee, where participants discussed the 2005 crisis in Darfur, when rebel factions sparring with Sudanese government-sponsored militias caused widespread human rights abuses and humanitarian disasters in the region. Robbins, who joined NMH’s Model UN team in the fall, said the scale and scope of the Harvard conference was a bit surreal at first. 

“The thing that everyone told us beforehand was [that] it is cutthroat,” Robbins recalled. “A lot of kids are competing for these awards, and there's people from all over the world. My first day walking around, introducing myself to people, there were kids from a Brazilian military school walking around in full uniform, three by three. That was an eye-opener.”

Robbins said the nature of Model UN gives students a chance to step out of their own heads and embrace the situation and role they’re being asked to play. With a tight conference schedule, from 7 in the morning to late at night, there is little time to second-guess yourself or be self-conscious, he noted.

“I'm a little bit of a socially anxious person,” he said. “But when you have four days to build relationships and trust and get people to form alliances, you just jump in. It was really transformative for me – I learned that, yes, I can socialize. That was one of the biggest takeaways: a real newfound confidence in my abilities.”

Temistocles Metz ’26, also new to the team this year, echoed the sentiment that the Havard Model UN conference is much more than a chance to win accolades.

“A lot of people go to the conferences just for awards, but at the end of the day, that's not what it is about,” Metz said. “Creating relationships, making new friends, networking – that's some of the most important things for me.”

His experiences in Model UN have positively impacted other aspects of his life at NMH, added Metz. 

“It has helped me a lot in terms of my personal skills, writing, public speaking, and critical thinking,” he said. “For example, I'm an international student, and while MUN doesn't have anything to do with my American lit class, it has helped me when I'm writing an essay. It’s been a great, great experience.”

Thiri credits the team’s student leadership with providing the foundation for success at the Harvard conference.

“Students run the entire process: They hold elections for leadership positions, and then we as a group determine the culture, the climate, and how we move forward,” Thiri said. “Many of these students have come through the program for several years and they’ve really formed a tight group. They’re very driven.”

One of those leaders is Hisu Kang ’26, now in her third year on the NMH team. Kang said participating in Model UN has opened her eyes to the way national biases and media consumption can influence one’s understanding of global issues. Perhaps the biggest lesson of all has been the value of effective communication in crisis management.

“One key thing I didn't realize I would be learning in MUN is how to deal with people,” she said. “Not in the negative connotation of that phrase but just how to approach different people and conflict resolution as part of a leadership team. Obviously, human nature sometimes kicks in and conflict is inevitable – I'd say it's healthy. We’re trying to learn how to manage that and balance power dynamics. Ultimately, we're here to be diplomatic and have these open-ended conversations about controversial world issues.”

Kang said the team is working on plans to host a regional conference at NMH in the near future. She hopes having a Model UN event on campus will inspire more students to participate in the group’s activities.

“It's not really about having ‘experience’; it’s more about gaining experience,” Kang said. “Of course, it's about debate and discourse, but also it's about the friendships and bonds you'll make along the way, whether that's country-to-country or human-to-human. In this day and age, coming back to that communication piece of it, MUN ultimately teaches you how to have tough conversations.”

“We have a lot more fun than people might think,” added Robbins. “It can be hard, yeah, but it's really a unique experience that you can't find anywhere else. Whatever you're into, you can probably find a place for it in MUN.”

Photos courtesy of Tiffany Thiri and the NMH Model UN team.