Of the many new clubs at Cherry Hill High School West that are on the rise and expanding every single day, there might be none more expansive than West Model United Nations, or Model UN. We like to run a tight ship. It’s an exciting and educational club open to all students, including those without prior experience. While similar to a typical high school debate club, Model UN presents more challenges.
West Model UN was established by numerous students, particularly seniors of the 2023-2024 school year. It was founded by senior Colin Duckett, who became the club’s first president, with assistance from Mrs. Rachael Friedman (West DECA Advisor, East Mock Trial Coach) and other students. Here’s a breakdown: under the club this year, there are five individuals responsible for managing West Model UN’s operations, traveling, and representation at conferences with other schools in the South Jersey area.
Executive Members:
Jonida Dapi- Advisor (replacing Ms. Friedman)
Andy Nguyen (Class of 2025)- President
Shazil Qureshi (Class of 2025)- Vice President (West Student Government Organization)
Milana Orlov (Class of 2026)- Secretary (West Cross Country, West Girls Basketball, West Track and Field, Fermata, SGO)
Ioannis Kyriakou (Class of 2025)- Chief of Staff (West Boys Tennis, Cross Country, West Track and Field, West Mock Trial, SGO, West Lions Roar)
Other Notable Members:
Vivian Kirk (Class of 2025) (West Soccer, West Track and Field)
Selin Dogan (Class of 2027) (West Swimming, West Mock Trial)
Aziyah Jackson (Class of 2027) (West Cross Country, West Basketball)
Daphne Nguyen (Class of 2028)
Andy Nguyen, an excellent student, was selected by Colin Duckett to be his successor as President following the graduation of the 2024 year, as Duckett was impressed by his win for Best Position Paper at Haddonfield High School. Being a veteran from the very first meeting, senior Shazil Qureshi has a very impressive list of accolades on his resume. He has won four awards. He has won Best Novice, Best Position Paper, and has two nominations for Honorable Mention.
Junior Milana Orlov, an athlete for the West cross country, basketball, and track teams and a member of Fermata who is also President of SGO, has received Best Novice and numerous Honorable Mentions. Lastly, Ioannis Kyriakou, the Chief of Staff, and an athlete for West Boys Tennis, Cross Country, and Track and Field, a member of SGO, a writer for Lion’s Roar, has used his experience in public speaking as a defense lawyer for West Mock Trial to get the first win for the top award, Best Delegate, for the season as Chief of Staff.
When conducted, meetings are held in F-37 under the supervision of Ms. Jonida Dapi. Students will select committees and nations they wish to represent at the conferences. These countries can be selected from all over the world. Once their countries and committees are selected, they will then be asked to write a position paper. These position papers will have three parts: they must give a paragraph of the problem, where your country stands on it, and a potential solution that you must come up with and have backed up research and citations on. Once that is completed, you must reserve it for the scheduled conference date. You and the other Model UN students will travel to the hosting school.
After breakfast and lunch, you will travel to the room inside the school where your selected committee is hosting the meeting. There, you will represent your country in a series of topics connected to the committee throughout the day. As a Best Delegate winner, I take a lot of pride in my work and responsibilities when I am representing a country. It’s extremely important and challenging work, but it is worth it. Following the conclusion of the conference, all the delegates and advisors from all of the schools will meet and come together to discuss who won all of the awards. These include Best Delegate, which is the highest honor and the most important award to honor a delegate’s work and performance. Others include Best Position Paper, Best Resolution, and they also give Honorable Mentions.
Although it may seem like a lot of work dealing with global politics on the outside, it has a creative layer and several influential aspects on the inside. For more information, please contact Ms. Dapi. If you want to meet her in person, she is in F-37 during LB1/LB2. If you wish to email her, it’s [email protected]