The Model UN club rounded out their year with WinMUN, a conference teeming with challenges and opportunities.
Co-Adviser Laura Greeley was able to attend this final conference, and see the club’s progress in arguably their biggest event of the year.
“WinMUN is a fun event for us because it’s typically our final conference of the year, and the structure is a bit different from some of the others. It takes place on a Sunday (as opposed to Saturday) and includes an hour and a half lunch break for delegates to go out to eat in downtown Winchester as well as a delegate social before closing ceremonies,” Greeley said.
This year, WinMUN had over 300 delegates from 26 schools. Masco delegates had to stand out if they wanted to rise above the other schools, and they prevailed, with 6 delegates receiving awards.
Among those delegates was sophomore Oliver Deeks, who represented Madagascar in ECOSOC’s African Union committee, and his performance rewarded him with an Outstanding Delegate award. Deeks was looking forward to WinMUN, an attitude which no doubt helped him succeed in his committee.
“I was expecting it to be a fruitful dialogue and fun times with my friends,” Deeks said.
Deeks especially stood out during unmoderated conversations (unmods), where he stepped up to compromise and debate.
“Being very open in unmods and trying to include everyone made me stand out to the chairs,” Deeks said.
Another delegate who stood out was junior Landen Boutilier, who went in with some uncertainty given the nature of his committee, the Specialized International Olympics Committee.
“I wasn’t actually sure what to expect; my committee was called specialized so many times throughout we got updates that affected our decisions,” Boutilier said.
Despite the uncertainty, Boutilier was able to make an impression, being awarded Outstanding Delegate for his role as United Arab Emirates.
“I think that my leadership and listening helped me very much. I tried my hardest to reach a compromise between very different opinions,” Boutilier said.
Other notable award recipients included sophomores Caitlin Kohn and Nora Konen, and juniors Belle DiCarlo and Delaney Ogden.
Co-Adviser Greeley was able to see massive improvement from all Masco delegates during WinMUN, even in those who did not receive awards.
“Our Masco delegates jumped right into the discussions. I spotted most of them speaking in front of their committees within the first half hour of their sessions, showing a lot of growth in confidence from their first conference in the fall,” Greeley said.
While the Model UN club is finally done with their major conferences, it will close out the year with a FunMUN debate and a senior send-off party at their next after school meeting.