On Nov. 15, Campo’s Model UN team set out for their first conference of the year: Tri-Valley, held at Dougherty High School. After a promising season last year where rebuilding the club was a key priority, all of the competing delegates had and have bigger expectations moving forward.
Freshman Chloe Paras expressed how she felt initially as one of the new delegates. “Going to Tri-Valley, I expected it to be really big and scary, but it wasn’t like that at all. I had a really nice chair (head of committee) and everybody was really helpful.”
Although the Campo delegation was on the smaller side in preparation for the club’s bigger conference taking place in December, the competing members still brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm into their committees. Delegates tackled topics ranging from the ethics of bioengineering to education equality. All of the returning members tried their hand at the Press Corps committee, which was a more of a unique take on Model UN as a whole.
“We were role-playing someone who was in the press, so instead of being a country and debating a topic, you’re going around into different committees, taking notes, and interviewing people to write an article on the conference itself,” explained junior and co-vice president Adam Zheng.
Despite the competitive atmosphere, the Campo delegation emphasized community over awards. Still, the team celebrated a strong outcome, including a Verbal Commendation for freshman Fatima Ghias, an Outstanding Delegate for Zheng, and an Honorable Mention for co-president and senior Cassidy Mintz.
“We had some really strong leaders there who walked me and some newer delegates through the whole process, both in committee and in the Campo delegation,” Paras added. “It was a really great experience, I would definitely do it again. I got to meet a lot of wonderful people.”
As Campo’s Model UN club looks ahead to its next major conference, BearMUN, in December, members noted that Tri-Valley set a positive tone for the rest of the year: One of growth, teamwork, and renewed excitement.
