Keeping with their winning tradition, Elon students won several awards at the conference. Sean Wilson and Niki Molinaro were given verbal commendations for their role as Iceland in NATO. Broadway Jackson and Greg Nantz were awarded honorable mention for their portrayal of Switzerland at the Congress of Vienna. 

The delegation consisted of Gregory Nantz, William Burke, Hayley Harding, Gregory Honan, Dash Jepsen, Maggie Rousseau, Broadway Jackson, Alex Cantone, Andrew Manca, Allison Gloninger, Niki Molinaro and Sean Wilson. 

The confernece was Elon’s last of the year and the organization is now concentrating on staffing its own simulation, the International Crisis Conference at Elon, for International Relations classes. 

The past few weeks have been big for the Elon Model UN Society.

On Feb. 27, a 10-person delegation left for the United States Military Academy at West Point to attend the West Point Model UN Invitational. The group spent several days working through the American response to the Mali crisis and related incidents in the Caucus region in committees that ranged from the international investment firm Minerva Group to the National Security Council. Students also got to experience many aspects of life at West Point, including a meal with cadets in the mess hall and a round at the electronic shooting range.

The delegation won several awards at the conference. Kirsten Holland received the Outstanding Delegate award in the Special Operations Command Europe Committee; Robert Dean was given an Honorable Mention for his job as  the Secretary of State in the National Security Council; and David Oleksak won an Honorable Mention for his portrayal of Sen. Todd Puga in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. 

This year’s team for the West Point Model UN Invitational included Robert Dean, Kirsten Holland, Anna McCracken, Anthony Philips-Spencer, Joshua McGee, Gregory Honan, Joe Kelley, Dave Oleksak, Alex Francis and Michelle Rich. 

Immediately following Closing Ceremonies at West Point, Robert Dean, Anna McCracken, Kirsten Holland and advisor Chalmers Brumbaugh traveled to Antalya, Turkey, to participate in the Model United Nations Turkey conference. All three students said it was an amazing and unique experience that gave them a better insight on the international perspective on foreign affairs.

The Elon delegation won two awards in Turkey. Robert Dean was declared Outstanding Delegate in the United Nations Security Council after representing the United Kingdom and Kirsten Holland was given an Honorable Mention for her portrayal of the UK in a Future UN Security Council.  

The Elon Model UN team was recently ranked 22nd in the country following successful showings at conferences in the fall.

Best Delegate, a MUN consulting company that monitors the competitive collegiate circuit, ranks teams according to the number of awards they are given at each conference, as well as the overall participation scores of each delegate.

This is the first year Elon has been ranked and Best Delegate credits the work of delegates at both the National Collegiate Security Conference and the Duke International Security Conference.

“Elon breaks into the top 25 after an impressive top-10 showing at NCSC and a top-5 finish at DISCon. Those performances put this liberal arts college in company with many big university names, and it may be time to start remembering Elon too.”

Elon is the only team in North Carolina in the top 25, topping both Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill. The team travels this spring to the West Point Security Conference in February and the University of Chicago’s CHOMUN conference in April, with a possible third conference in between. 

Eleven Elon students from the Elon Model UN Society attended the Duke International Security Conference this weekend. They debated issues surrounding the Central Asian energy crisis, taking the perspectives of oil company executives and ministers of countries like Tajikistan. Every student in attendance worked hard to try and promote their committees’ best interest and several of our students performed above and beyond. 

MUN President Robert Dean won the award for Best Delegate while depicting the Iranian Minister of Intelligence and Security. 

Austin Rhoads won Outstanding Delegate for his work as the CFO of Shell Global. Hayley Harding also won Outstanding Delegate for her performance as the Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan. 

Niki Molinaro was given a verbal commendation after simulating the Minister of Justice in Kazakhstan very well.  

The following students made up the remainder of the Elon delegation: Joe Kelley, Dash Jepsen, Alexandra Cantone, Alex Francis, Sean Wilson, Declan Cleary and Erik Bohle. 

Elon MUN is looking forward to competing in a number of conferences this spring.

Senior Greg Nantz and junior Austin Rhoads excelled in their committee, the ad hoc summit of the European Central Bank, while representing Belgium. As a partnership, they brought home the Best Delegate award, beating students from Harvard, Yale, West Point, the Wharton School of Business at University of Pennsylvania and many others. 

The Elon delegation consisted of Robert Dean, Greg Nantz, Joshua McGee, William Burke, Anthony Phillips-Spencer, Anna McCracken, Kirsten Holland, Hayley Harding, Austin Rhoads, Greg Honan, Nicole Molinaro, Hannah Wilson, Allison Gloninger, Michelle Rich, Jessica Grembowski, and Sean Wilson.

All the students who attended the conference came away with a better understanding of the complexities of international relations and a network of students from other universities that also excel in the field. 

The delegation included Brooke Kassner, Fiona Alfaro, Gabrielle McCarthy, Reem Hindieh, Anna McCracken, Cleo Dan, Greg Honan, Robert Dean, Austin Rhoads, Paul Beatty, William Burke and David Oleksak. Other schools in attendance included Harvard University, Columbia University, Florida International University, New York University and McGill University. 

Each student represented a different position within the American government and responded to a simulated Israeli attack on Iran. Within committee, students had to debate actions and create plans to direct the United States through this crisis. In addition to work within the committee, delegates were able to attend speeches by Army personnel who have served in many capacities. 

Two students won awards at the conference. Brooke Kassner, representing the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, won Most Outstanding Delegate on the National Security Council. Anna McCracken, representing the Commander of the Army Special Forces, won Most Outstanding Delegate on the Special Operations Command.