New Hyde Park Memorial High School students traveled to the University of Virginia to participate in the 44th annual Virginia Model United Nations. Thirty students attended the conference, which took place from November 14 to 18, 2024. As one of the most highly regarded high school Model UN conferences in the nation, VAMUN offered delegates the chance to debate pressing global issues, refine their public speaking skills and make new connections. They traveled along with their adviser Mr. Novak and social studies teacher Ms. Stack. NHP is also the first school in the district to attend VAMUN.
“The fact that no one’s ever been to this conference is what makes this experience so unique compared to other conferences,” Mr. Novak said.
VAMUN offered a variety of General Assemblies, Specialized Agencies and Crisis Committees. Delegates debated topics such as greenwashing in the tech industry, NBA global expansion and the aftermath of Stalin’s death. In the weeks leading up to the trip, NHP delegates immersed themselves in intense preparation. They researched, wrote position papers and stayed after school to hone their skills.
“The most rewarding part of going on the conference after preparing for weeks was being able to see me and my partner grow as a pair after an endless amount of FaceTimes, printing research for hours, and going over it all over the 8-hour train ride there,” sophomore Aditi Parikh said.
Between sessions, delegates enjoyed meals at local Charlottesville restaurants, explored the UVA campus and bonded as a team in the game room of their hotel, The Graduate Hilton. A typical day included committee sessions, a lunch break and evening debates or socials, followed by dinner after debate.
“My favorite moments from VAMUN were definitely going to dinners together as a club after committee. Being surrounded by so many kind people who are going through the same situation you are is such an amazing feeling,” junior Nyelle Sarreal said.
NHP delegates earned several awards that highlighted their hard work and diplomacy.
Best Delegate:
Senior Alex Tomalski • Damian Lillard, Nothing but Net: NBA Global Expansion and Management Committee
Outstanding Delegate:
Senior Marco Valle • Position 14, Jefferson Committee on Diplomacy: Specialized Agency
Honorable Delegate:
Seniors Julia Kim & Rachel Jacob • Egypt, United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)
Seniors Sahir Bhatia & Aayan Ahmed • Botswana, United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)
Junior Nyelle Sarreal • Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, In the Waffle House We Trust: Bush Administration, 2005
Junior Leah Del Orbe • Meredith Stiehm, Hollywood’s Bleeding: Screen Actors Guild on Strike!
Junior Dhara Patel • Treya Berson, The 2060 Green Clean Team: Busting Greenwashing and Tech Turmoil
Juniors Ariana Muhammad & Carmela Drossman-Schlossberg • Morocco, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Junior Krish Singh • Adeimantus, Give Them Hell: The Hellenic League during the Persian Wars
Sophomores Bea Navarro & Zahra Nuha • Panama, World Health Organization (WHO)
Sophomores Aditi Parikh & Jacob Bolder • Turkey, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Sophomores Sania Naqvi & Hedia Ninan • South Africa, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)
Sophomores Ismael El Mohtadi & Alphonse Jaison • Algeria, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)
New Hyde Park was recognized for its achievement and was awarded Outstanding Large Delegation. The team’s win was met with pride and enthusiasm from both the students and Mr. Novak. This award marks New Hyde Park’s fifth delegation award in the last three years, with the first being WAMUNC in the spring of 2022.
“As we always say in MUN, ‘success isn’t accidental’ and the VAMUN delegates proved once again at through hard work, dedication and effort we can be successful as a delegate’s in providing each committee with effective solutions and the needed diplomacy to tackle world issues, and I’m so proud of that,” Mr. Novak said.
As a result of NHP’s delegation award and a binding agreement between the students and their adviser, Mr. Novak wore flip flops for the two weeks that followed the conference.
In action to the physical awards, NHP delegates returned from VAMUN XLIV with invaluable lessons in diplomacy and lifelong memories.
