Over the past month, Edison High School’s Model United Nations club introduced new members to MUN through the Franklin High School MUN Conference (FHSMUN) and the Princeton MUN Conference (PMUN). In both conferences, delegates were assigned a country and topic, ranging from a historical conflict to a current issue. Along with their committees, they debated their topics and developed solutions which were voted on and passed by their committee. Delegates were evaluated on their public speaking, leadership, adaptability, and critical thinking skills. 

On November 5th, 2022, EHSMUN members participated in eight committees at FHSMUN where Ishani Bakshi ‘26, Aditya Rao ‘26, Ainie Syed’ 26, Ishaan Shetty ‘24, Divya Krishna ‘25, Avinash Aravind ‘23, Krish Shah ‘24, and Sushanth Balaraman ‘24 each won an award. For many delegates, this was their first conference.

“FHSMUN is always one of the best conferences to go to whether you’re a beginner or experienced,” said experienced delegate Shreya Tammana ‘25. “It’s guided in the beginning of the year and a good experience overall with less experienced delegates as well as helpful chairs. This makes it a good review or experience as an example for future conferences and a good practice.“

New delegates appreciated the skills and opportunities MUN provides. Nandini Chandra ‘26 said “It gave us an introduction on how to prepare, study, and listen to other opinions… I am excited for future conferences as we were able to collaborate with people in a way we aren’t at school. It made me feel like the next four years will really provide opportunities to grow.”

Following FHSMUN, from November 17th to November 20th, fifteen Edison High delegates went to PMUN in Hilton East Brunswick. The event, hosted by the Princeton International Relations Council, spanned four days. 

EHSMUN left with three awards: Pragya Singh ’23 and Avinash Aravind ’23 with an Outstanding in Legal, Aditya Rao ‘26 and Ishani Bakshi ‘26 with an Honorable in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and Suhani Chokshi ‘24 an Honorable in the Second Continental Congress. 

This was one of Chokshi’s first conferences, and she said that, “PMUN really showed me what MUN truly was. I was able to understand the kind of people I would meet and what I needed to do at a conference. Larger conferences always have a learning curve, but PMUNC was a good step toward becoming a better delegate.”

Aditya Rao ‘26 said, “it was so different from a small conference, or any of the virtual conferences we went to. It was a lot bigger and overall the vibes were great, you know. People were excited to be there, I was excited to be there. I mean, as a freshman getting to go to a conference of such prestige, let alone for four days, having fun, and even winning an award. It’s just different.”

Delegates interacted with high schoolers from across the country, from New York to California. As an experienced senior, Shreeya Malikareddy ‘23 focused more on this opportunity: “Being a senior and all caused me to sit back during my last conference and not be as competitive as I usually would have been. I gravitated towards making friends and talking to people during un-mods. The formal speech at the beginning of the conference from the keynote speaker about her experiences in the developing world brought me back to what the United Nations actually does for the world. Speaking and connecting with other people isn’t only about knowing your stuff, it’s also about valuing interpersonal relationships with other people.”

The keynote speakers at PMUNC — a UNICEF representative from Princeton University, and former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon — set the tone for the conference. They discussed the purposes and goals of the United Nations and their experiences communicating with governments and addressing the needs of developing populations.