This year, the SHS Model United Nations (UN) club is soaring to new heights–literally. In March, selected club members will fly 3,662 miles to Geneva, Switzerland, to attend a conference. Since the SHS club’s founding in 2003, members have never participated in an international conference of this caliber.
Model UN co-advisors SHS history teachers Heather Willinger and Kelly Trayers offered some insight regarding the process behind choosing Switzerland as this year’s big trip. Willinger explained how she and the club’s previous advisor, SHS history teacher Michael Matisoff, had “talked about going overseas” before the pandemic when the club seemed to be at its peak.
However, once the pandemic hit, Model UN lost many members due to online conferences, the extensive time commitment, and the strict COVID-19 guidelines. The club rebuilt after returning to regular activities, and Willinger and Trayers began to reconsider traveling overseas.
According to Trayers, after the club attended a conference at the University of California, Berkeley, last March, she and Willinger could see the students’ determination and competitiveness, which prompted them to begin planning the trip to Switzerland.
The conference in Switzerland will be held from March 14th-16th, 2025, and will be hosted by the European chapter of Yale University’s Model UN (YMUNE). Willinger said they selected YMUNE and Switzerland for the 2025 conference because they wanted a conference they knew they “could trust,” noting that Yale University’s Model UN conferences are some of the most respected in the world. Trayers said they “wanted to start easy,” explaining they had looked into conferences in other countries, such as South Korea and Tunisia, but visiting a European country seemed more accessible for their first overseas conference.
39 SHS students and six adult chaperones will join the trip to Switzerland. The delegation will land in Paris, France, where they will spend an entire day and night sightseeing before traveling by train to Geneva, Switzerland, the next day. Trayers is in charge of planning the activities in Paris, which may include touring the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame Cathedral.
When the students arrive in Switzerland, they will act as Model UN delegates and debate with other delegates about real-world topics such as militarization in the Middle East or the over-persecution of the lower class. Fun topics such as Star Wars and Space Mining are also on the agenda. Students exemplify a United Nations delegate by delivering speeches, collaborating with other delegates, compromising on issues, and proposing solutions as they create resolution papers. This allows students to strengthen their public speaking, research, writing, collaboration, and social skills as they gain new knowledge of various topics.
SHS junior Mason Alvarez encourages interested students to join the SHS Model UN club, remarking, “Even if you think you won’t be good at it, you should do it anyway.” Model UN is open to all students, regardless of their experience.
This year marks Willinger’s 20th year as the SHS Model UN faculty advisor. When asked about the club’s influence on her professional life, she said, “It has been an outlet for me to travel and connect with students of similar interests.” Willinger started her tenure with Model UN after she left her role as the SHS field hockey coach; however, she said this position is similar to being a coach, as she enjoys seeing Model UN students develop their skills as the years progress.
Commenting on the club’s growth and reputation as a “tight-knit group,” Willinger said, “The family-type culture makes everyone feel welcomed.” Willinger hopes to see all members continue to “build competitiveness” and be a “dominant group” at future conferences.