By Adrianne Hutto, Production Director

The Manhattan College Model UN team had the opportunity to travel to Germany and Washington D.C. to represent the Russian Federation and the United States, respectively, at the Model UN conferences.  

Alexander Nichols, a junior at Manhattan College and member of the security council for the Germany trip, has been a part of the Model UN for two years now. 

He explained that while the students were given tours and the opportunity to travel, the majority of the trip was spent hard at work indoors.

 “It was probably eight hours of meeting with other students from other schools trying to work on resolutions,” Nichols said. 

With the goal of a career in international law and a double major in political science and peace and justice studies, it is no wonder Nichols has taken to the team’s security council. 

For this semester’s competition, the security council focused on the theme of education and conflict. 

“I’ve really been interested in our security council because we handle a lot of these issues that pertain to young people and focus on really giving them a voice,” Nichols said. 

Another student who traveled to Germany to represent Model UN was Quinn Nagle, a junior chemical engineering major at MC. 

Nagle was given the opportunity to join the group at the last minute, filling the coveted last spot for the team traveling to Germany. As an international studies minor, Nagle saw the trip as an opportunity to explore the liberal arts side of her studies. 

To prepare for the conference, each student wrote a one-page paper on their given country’s position on a topic. Nagle was on the environmental committee, which was the focus of her paper. 

“I focused on resource efficiency and urban development,” Nagle said. “So, I learned a lot about that, and with my science background I was able to connect policy and the science that I’ve been learning for two and a half years now.” 

Nagle explains that as a Model UN novice, the first day of delegating can be daunting. However, thanks to the support from her co-delegate, she was able to push through and by the end of the day was able to find her footing. 

By the end of the conference, the connections she made with her fellow teammates were what made the trip stand out the most. 

“I’ve had no opportunity to talk to people in other majors and other facets on campus,” Nagle said. “It’s crazy that it took going to Germany for me to meet new people, but I think creating new connections with other people on campus that I never would have met otherwise, was probably the best part.”

While in D.C., junior Montserrat Nicasio was with the other half of MC’s Model UN team representing the Russian Federation. 

Nicasio was a part of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), tackling two different topics. 

“The [first topic] was the FAO committee implementing the FAO strategic framework for 2022 to 2031 and then the second topic was addressing the current state of the world’s fisheries and aquaculture,” Nicasio said. 

During the conference, Nicasio explained that it can be nerve-wracking to speak in front of a room of other students, but once speeches are over, students begin to gravitate towards other groups and begin discussions on like-minded topics. 

Nicasio explains that the conference allows the club to make connections with students from around the world. 

“I remember my first conference in New York, I made a friend from Germany and from Canada,” Nicasio said.  “It’s just so fascinating seeing their perspective. It’s really cool, you definitely meet a whole diverse group of people.” 

Next semester, the club will be in the form of a class and will attend the conference in New York representing the Dominican Republic, a conference Nicasio is anticipating due to her personal connection.

 “I’m Dominican, so I already have knowledge on the history and what’s going on now,” Nicasio said. “It will be a change from having to become versed in Eastern European countries like Russia and Ukraine.” 

Both teams this year had the pleasure of receiving honorable mentions, which is not a first for MC Model UN, having won a distinguished delegates award in April. 

“I would recommend Model UN to anyone who asks, even if you have nothing to do with political science,” Nagle said. “I think you’ll learn so much, even just professional communication skills like negotiating and putting your personal beliefs aside to work. I feel like I came back from that week a completely changed person.”