Model United Nations (Model UN) held its annual interest meeting Jan. 15, providing curious students with an overview of upcoming events for the 2026 season. Model UN is an extracurricular activity geared toward students interested in exploring careers in several areas, most notably law, government, business, global issues and politics. In this meeting, delegates began mapping out their goals and expectations for future events.
According to social studies teacher and Model UN advisor Julia Germain, the primary goal of Model UN is for students to tackle various political issues within communities while representing their respective countries.
“Each student represents a different country, and they are part of different councils and committees,” Germain said. “At conferences, there is usually a problem or crisis that they are trying to address, and their goal is to assess that (problem) to the best of their ability in order to come up with a good solution.”
Junior Asha Ferrán-Sapatnekar said Model UN gives students a chance to gain exposure to various political issues and procedures. According to her, Model UN provides participants with ample opportunities to approach various problems utilizing an assortment of strategies.
“There are a lot of different issues that you can address in Model UN, like human rights, social and political issues,” Ferrán-Sapatnekar said. “There’s also a lot of different approaches to issues, like creating new laws and collaborating with other nations.”
Senior Joseph Ekkers said one of the most intimidating aspects of Model UN is taking risks by communicating ideas to unfamiliar faces.
“One of the biggest challenges of (participating in) Model UN is how it can get you out of your comfort zone (by interacting with other delegates). It forces you to talk to new people,” Ekkers said.
According to Germain, taking part in Model UN can help students develop expertise applicable to many different career paths. She said Model UN conferences can play a significant role in preparing students to make real-world impacts.
“Regardless of what they go into after high school, participating in Model UN gives students a lot of skills that they can transfer, like communication, problem-solving and personal relationship skills,” Germain said.
Ferrán-Sapatnekar said she is excited to participate in many social components of the conferences for Model UN. She said one of the most enjoyable elements of Model UN is creating her position paper, a pre-conference task that involves writing a well-researched document outlining a country’s stance, history and proposed solutions to a given issue.
“I am looking forward to meeting new people and working in collaboration with other nations,” Ferrán-Sapatnekar said. “I am also looking forward to making my position paper and learning more about the nation that I’m representing, which is one of my favorite parts of Model UN.”
Ekkers said he was initially interested in Model UN because of the immersive, educational opportunities the program offered to students hoping to pursue a career in politics.
“(I joined) because I was interested in working in politics,” Ekkers said. “I wanted to see how that all worked, and Model UN seemed like it offered some helpful experiences in the field.”
Germain said she is looking forward to new participants having their first Model UN experience, and she hopes it will lead to a sense of accomplishment and empowerment within the group. According to her, she wishes for the club’s continued growth, and that current members will maintain enjoyment for the activity.
“I’m excited for Model UN this year because we have had a lot of new students interested in joining the club, and it’s great that so many kids who have never participated before will be trying it for the first time,” Germain said. “After this season, hopefully the club will keep growing, and kids will feel accomplished afterwards and be excited to do it again.”
Ekkers said he highly recommends interested students give Model UN a chance. He said while the activity may seem daunting to newcomers, the environment is surprisingly relaxed and nearly unanimously enjoyable.
“Just try it out! Model UN is a lot more low-key and way less intimidating than you might think, and a lot of people have fun with it,” Ekkers said.
