CEDARVILLE — Cedarville University’s Model United Nations team competed in the annual Dayton Model United Nations Conference and just like last year, the team claimed seven individual awards during the two-day event.
Cedarville’s 16-member delegation will now compete in the international conference in New York April 9-13.
In the Dayton event, held Feb. 3-4 at Sinclair Community College, Cedarvile’s team competed against 150 other students from 10 midwest universities. The team participated in four different committees and represented nine different countries.
Esther Holm, a junior majoring in international studies and Spanish from Paraguay, won outstanding delegate — the highest individual award given — at SimSec, the simulated version of the UN Security Council. Tyler Hanley, senior political science major from Illinois, won distinguished delegate at SimSec.
“One of the greatest privileges I have had at Cedarville is being co-captain with Tyler Hanley on the Model U.N. Team,” Holm said. “Winning the award was a humbling experience, because it showed me how far I’ve come since starting Model U.N.”
Hanley said he appreciated the opportunities and friendships the UN provides.
“Model UN has allowed me to apply lessons from the classroom and work together with students from around the world,” he said.
Christian Townsend, a senior from Indiana, majoring in history and political science, won outstanding delegate to the UN Security Council. Corinna Ward, a junior double majoring in finance and marketing from Dayton and Kuala Lumpur, from Malaysia, won an honorable mention in this category.
Jana Minich, senior political science major from Indiana, won outstanding delegate to the UN High Commission on Refugees.
Lauren Payne, senior political science major from Indiana, won distinguished delegate to the UN Committee on Narcotic Drugs and Jesse Thompson won an honorable mention for this category.
“The Model U.N. is comprised of outstanding young men and women who represented Cedarville University with excellence,” said Dr. Glen Duerr, the team’s advisor. “I would certainly characterize the performance of the entire team as outstanding given their energy, attention to detail, and exhaustive work throughout the entirety of the weekend.”
