Campo’s Model UN team secured another impressive performance at the San Ramon Valley High School (SRV) conference on March 28th. The conference was smaller than previous ones giving Campo delegates more opportunities to speak. There were three committees and around 20 students assigned to each.
Sophomores Leah Campbell and Kendra Moon won Best Delegate. Sophomore Richard Wei (Co-Vice President) and junior Lauren Kawamoto (Co-President) were awarded Outstanding Delegate. They were all on the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) committee. Sophomore Adam Zheng won Outstanding Delegate from the NATO committee. From the Parks and Recreation committee, junior Anjali Rao was awarded a verbal commendation, and junior Cassidy Mintz (Co-President) received Best Delegate.
Rao has been a part of the club for around two months and has enjoyed her experience. “It really teaches you public speaking skills and you get a lot of new friends…I also made new friends from SRV and I think making friends from other schools can be hard” said Rao.
Rao said her highlight of this specific conference was “winning an award because [she] hasn’t before and seeing everyone else get awards…Campo did really well.”
Co-Vice President Richard Wei discussed the Belt and Road Initiative and its impact on Southeast Asia. “My favorite part of the conference was the unmoderated caucus, where we got to walk around, talk to other delegates, and collaborate on solutions. It’s always fun meeting new people” he said. Despite the fun atmosphere performing at conferences still makes Wei nervous. When he experiences this he thinks of his role model LeBron James. “He teaches me that nerves are not weakness, instead, they’re the drumroll before the moment. So I breathe, I focus, and I channel the King. Because when LeBron walks onto the court, the air changes; and when I walk into committee, I try to do the same, not just to participate, but to leave a mark” said Wei.
Co-Vice President Adam Zheng was part of the NATO committee as Poland. “We were talking about how to counter cyber security threats…obviously cyber warfare is becoming way more prevalent with more advanced AI…there’s a point where it’s unethical with deep fakes and spreading misinformation,” Zheng said. He and his peers were attempting to answer the questions of “where should we make that boundary [regarding ethics],” Zheng added.
Like Rao, Zheng also appreciated the more intimate size of the conference and being able to build friendships and overall community in a space of passion.
The Model UN community is important to Zheng especially because “we discuss real world topics and you can apply it to your real life” he said.
