The Johnson County Community College (JCCC) Model United Nations team is pleased to announce that it received an Distinguished Delegation Award for the portrayal Kenya at the National Model United Nations Conference (NMUN) in New York City, March 31 to April, 2012. In addition, JCCC received an Outstanding Position Paper award for the General Assembly Third Committee on the topics of Combating Human Trafficking, Development and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Transnational Organized Crime.

JCCC students competed against other Universities and Colleges from around the world (i.e., University of Montreal, University of Rome, University of Sharjah, University of Lyon, Renmin University of China).

 

JCCC was evaluated by the conference on the following criteria for the Distinguished Award: Remaining in Character – defined as advocating your assigned country’s position in a manner consistent with economic, social and geopolitical constraints, Participating in committee – evaluated both during formal and informal (caucusing) sessions, Proper use of the rules of procedure – NMUN uses the rules of procedure to facilitate effective workings of committee and debate.

 

Additionally, Position Paper Awards in recognition of outstanding pre-conference preparation. The following criteria are used by the conference staff to evaluate Position Papers:  Overall quality of writing, proper style, grammar, etc., Citation of relevant resolutions/documents, General consistency with bloc/geopolitical constraints, Consistency with the constraints of the United Nations, and Analysis of issues, rather than reiteration of the Committee Background Guide.

 

Three JCCC Students were chosen by the conference to be rapporteur’s who assist with the organization of their conference committee.
James Khalif (Overland Park, KS) the General Assembly First Committee: Disarmament “Disarmament is interesting because it depends on the progress made on security which also contributes to the maintenance of peace in the world.”

Margarita Zunig, (Lawrence, KS) Food and Agricultural Organization “This experience at NMUN has been an educational and eye-opening experience, allowing the JCCC team to bond together and cooperate to achieve the highest accolades possible.”

 

Joseph Gideon (Overland Park, KS) International Criminal Court (ICC) “The ICC offers real insight into global perspectives on law and justice.”

 

In addition to the above, the JCCC teams success is attributed to Megan Willard (Olathe, KS),  Benjamin Tomlin (Lawrence, KS ), Benjamin Brown, (Overland Park, KS) Aaron Haffey (Overland Park, KS) Merrideth  Barlett (Olathe, KS),  Elvira Babaeva (Novoaltaysk, Russia) Gaelyn McGhee (Shawnee, KS) , Samantha Poetter (Paola, KS), Joe Siebert (Shawnee, KS), and Dr. Brian Wright (team advisor)

 

 

“It is a very impressive achievement for JCCC students,” JCCC Model UN faculty advisor and Associate Professor Brian Wright adds that “Please understand how much of an achievement this is for JCCC. The National Model United Nations (NMUN) conference New York City is the world’s largest and most prestigious Model United Nations conference. Participants include major universities from throughout the world, each of which sets the main focus of their program on award recognition at New York. Although the NMUN conference is very large, it has kept its number of awards small and to receive one clearly says to the rest of the Model UN community that JCCC has one of the strongest programs in the world. Receiving these awards are a great experience for our students that will stay with them throughout their lives.”

 

This NMUN award caps seven years of success for JCCC, during which the team has received awards at the last 23 consecutive conferences they have attended. It also completes a sweep for the school year with this JCCC team having received outstanding awards at the American Model United Nations in Chicago Il and Mid-West Model UN in St. Louis. These conferences are an exceptional educational opportunity for JCCC students and a chance to highlight the school’s academic excellence. JCCC students prepared for the conference through research for position papers, class assignments, and participation at their own MUN simulation. A wide variety of majors are represented on this team, such as Political Science, Business, History, Nursing, Education, English, and Science.

 

“The NMUN conference was an unforgettable experience because of meeting students from fifty six different countries. I am proud to be a part of such a successful team” said Margarita Zunig (Lawrence, KS). “This conference was an experience I will always value; having had the opportunity to work with great students from around the world. Model United Nations allows students to understand the international issues at the United Nations while building skills in public speaking and diplomacy. More than 3000 students participated in the conference by proposing resolutions and writing reports dealing with world issues. The conference helps students to further understand global issues and international relations in a forum that allows them to discuss global concerns in an atmosphere that is similar to that of the United Nations.

 

“These awards it would not have been possible without the hard work and collaboration between of every member of this team,” said JCCC student” said Gaelyn McGhee.

 

Ben Brown “When you enter the United Nations General Assembly Hall and witness so many students from around the world working on international issues. Nothing compares to the feeling of everything coming together which spending time at the United Nations. Just imagine what we can accomplish in the future.”

 

Ben Tomlin “Learning the international perspective from those who actually hold it was very rewarding.”

 

Aaron Haffey “the conference is an opportunity to interact with students from around the world and solve issues in a learning environment.”

 

Samantha Poetter “The conference shows how students are working diplomatically to fine solutions to issues of human trafficking by consensus. The hope is that the United Nations can do the same.”

 

Meredith Barlett “I am glad to have the opportunity to network with future leaders from around the world. This is a wonderful learning opportunity that I will not soon forget. I am particularly proud of the contributions made by my fellow JCCC students.”

 

Joe Siebert “ I am collaborating with a panel of eight student justices of the international criminal court to assess the evidence presented and judge the merits of the case.”

 

Ben Brown “At the NMUN conference we collaborate to find feasible solutions for solving the world’s most critical issues such as responding to famine in Africa.”

Megan Willard “the hard work by all students at the conference is an accurate representation of diplomacy in action.”

Gaelyn McGhree “The conference is exciting experience. I am enjoying the conference and all of the opportunities that comes from the experience. We get to see New York City and the United Nations and to work with an international body of students to reach many goals.