On February 27 a total of 18 delegates representing Parker in an international Model United Nations (MUN) conference, accompanied by three upper school history teacher chaperones, Jeanne Barr, Kevin Conlon, and Susan Elliott, departed for Mexico City, leaving the freezing cold behind.

For over eleven years, Parker’s Upper School MUN program has been annually sending one group of students to a national conference—which this year was in Seattle—and another group to an international conference.

Parker’s delegation was one of only three from the United States that spoke English as their first language—in a conference in which you were expected to speak in English.  “We definitely had an advantage at this conference because it was conducted in English,” “Barr said, “and most participants weren’t fluent.”

Still, Elliot was struck by how well the Parker team did.  “They all came really well-prepared and were super invested in all of their committees,” she said.  “Many of them even received incredible accolades.” Indeed–Parker picked up 16 awards.

Seniors Grace Buono and Josh Marks received Best Delegate awards in their committees. Juniors Sammy Kagan and Galia Newberger, senior Maya Sanghvi, and sophomore Lindsay Carlin also received accolades for Outstanding Delegate. Senior Jessi Lieb and sophomore Natalie Daskal each received an Honorable Mention award. Junior Felicia Miller, sophomore Alex Schapiro, and senior Jai Choudhary received Best Position Paper awards, while junior Jack Maling, Kagan, Marks, and Sanghvi received the Delegates’ Choice award. Overall, Parker was recognized as the second best delegation.

Freshman delegate Carter Wagner enjoyed the mix of participants.  “Being surrounded by people from different parts of the world was absolutely amazing and seeing everyone come together to debate issues affecting everyone no matter where they were from was also incredible,” Wagner said. “I got to learn so much about different countries, and a lot about Mexico’s history through the tours.”

Barr thought that this conference “was the best one Parker has attended in years” thanks in part to its “truly thought out crises.”

With two and a half days dedicated to sightseeing, the Parker delegates got to see good part of the city. “The sights were incredible,” senior Ray Blickstein, a MUN captain, said. “Our tour guide Rafa told us everything from the altitude changes to what was on the land where we were standing hundreds of years ago. From Frita Collins house to the sites Teotihuacan and climbing the Pyramid of Sun, every aspect of the trip was unbelievable.”

For weeks prior to the conference, those selected were required to participate in mandatory symposia, do extensive research, write two position papers on their committee topic, and come to weekly lunch and conference meetings to ensure they were prepared and ready for debate. With committee topics ranging from the European Union to the historical committee of 1961 NATO, Parker delegates debated topics that affected the world in the past as well as topics affecting the world today.

“My committee sessions were great, and I got to learn so much about Model UN, and practice my debate skills as well,” Schapiro said. “The trip also allowed me to make some upperclassmen friends, and make connections with people from all over the world.”

Barr thought Parker’s delegation did a tremendous job and that their work definitely paid off. She said, “They were really a great group of kids who all got along no matter grade, and all came to together to participate in Model UN and make themselves better delegates.”