By Natalie Tran
Full disclosure: Natalie Tran is a member of FVHS MUN.
This past Saturday, the Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) Model United Nations (MUN) team participated in GriffMUN, an all-virtual conference hosted by Los Alamitos High School. While the online transition of MUN presented a variety of challenges, FVHS’s delegation managed to succeed nonetheless. With outstanding performances and award-winning efforts, the conference promises an exciting future for the club.
MUN provides students an opportunity to roleplay actual delegates to the United Nations in an academic simulation. Each student is assigned a country, UN committee and topic and must work to find unique solutions to the world’s most pressing issues. In a conference, students participate in open debates and unmoderated caucuses, giving them a chance to enhance their public speaking and problem-solving skills—a task that may seem daunting to first-time delegates.
“Because this was my first [conference], I didn’t really know what to expect going in,” junior Brandon Tran said. “However, I rather enjoyed my first conference [and] I felt really good about my performance … The people I met and the sense of camaraderie that prevails further enhanced my experience, and I do hope to continue competing.”
Brandon Tran received an Outstanding Delegate award as Vietnam in the General Assembly. This year, the FVHS MUN team included four first-time delegates to compete at GriffMUN, all of who delivered excellent performances.
“I was intimidated the night before [the conference],” said senior Cassidy Doan, another first-time delegate. “[But] after practicing with my dog and sister, I finally developed some valuable communication skills such as speaking or debating spontaneously … [I’m] excited to be a part of the upcoming MUN season this year.”
Despite having to face Internet issues, a con that comes with having a virtual MUN conference, Doan maintained an excellent example of resilience as she was able to gain a rich experience in UN Women as Vietnam.
Along with the newcomers, some veteran delegates were able to make a comeback in this year’s conference. Junior Dylan Do, one of FVHS MUN’s experienced delegates, earned a Commendation for his great work and skills in debate.
“I was unsure if I was going to do well since it’s been over a year since my last conference,” Do said. “I feel like my performance was good enough but could’ve been better … as a junior, my schedule is so packed that preparation was only decent but luckily I had the experience.”
Although MUN was stopped short last year when the pandemic struck causing canceled conferences and disappointed delegates, virtual MUN has brought a couple of silver linings. The MUN club at FVHS was able to successfully undergo an online metamorphosis and flourish in the face of unprecedented disruption.
“I think we’re very lucky in MUN in that our activities translate very well to an online format,” FVHS MUN President senior Justin Hsieh said. “Of course, there are some things we miss, like the opportunity to compete on campuses at different schools and to spend time physically together before and after the conferences … but there are also upsides–including a less stressful environment and no travel time, and some fun side effects of the unique nature of Zoom conferences that make for excellent stories.”
All in all, the conference was a great accomplishment for the team; Hsieh can proudly attribute to that.
“I think all of our delegates accomplished what we value most in MUN. It was really fulfilling for me to see our delegates getting so enthusiastic about their topics … and I was especially happy to see that level of intellectual excitement from [first-time delegates],” Hsieh said. “GRIFFMUN was definitely a huge success for us, no matter how you measure it.”
