After months of planning by a student-run team, the Model United Nations club hosted the HagertyMun conference for the first time in the program’s history on April 8. Sixteen delegates from Cypress Creek, Lake Brantley, Seminole and Hagerty attended. Secretary General Mohana Pamidimukkala is proud of the conference’s success, as they were able to provide delegates a stress-free, inexpensive experience to practice their skills while also raising $200 for the club.

“I think the conference went very well for our first one,” Pamidimukkala said. “Many thanked us for having a more accessible conference.” 

In Model UN, each delegate represents a different country and takes a stance on a real-world issue that is impacting the United Nations. Each delegate is able to choose which issue they want to debate and determine which countries they want to work with, eventually creating a resolution paper for their topic. Although most conferences last three days, HagertyMun only lasted one, giving delegates a brief opportunity to polish their skills. Chief of Conference Management Valeria Romero was happy to help create this conference, as it was very convenient for participants.

“I was able to learn more on how committees work, as there were very talented delegates who attended,” Romero said. 

To prepare for HagertyMun, student leadership had to get approval to use the media center and its facilities, set up a MySchoolBucks for the other schools to pay their registration costs, and create Instagram pages that were frequently updated with information. Because this was the inaugural conference, setting it up took a lot of work, according to Pamidimukkala.

“So many of the tasks that we did this year were unprecedented,” Pamidimukkala said. “Having [this] setup this year will help us when we host our conferences next year.”

At the conference, delegates were split into two committees: the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and Committee on Counterterrorism. Each committee was assigned a topic to discuss, those being child trafficking in South Asia and the rise of Hezbollah, respectively. Delegate Brenda Maciel represented Japan in the Committee on Counterterrorism, and believes that this experience grew her debate and teamwork skills.

“My favorite part of the event consisted of collaborating with other delegates with similar viewpoints and forming solutions with one another,” Maciel said. “The best part, however, [was] the new friendships I made with other delegates at the end.” 

Four awards were given out to each committee at the conference based on their resolution papers, speaking skills and leadership. Committee chairs Romero and Brianna Lannon decided who won the awards, and Maciel received a verbal commendation. Eight awards were given out in total.

“I was happy with [my award], as it was my first conference ever and it displayed to me that I ought to continue with Model UN in the future,” Maciel said. 

Model UN plans to host this event annually and hopes that the turnout will grow in the coming years. At the end of the conference, a survey was given to all of the delegates to assess their experience. The results showed that 100% were satisfied with their experience and 90% would attend again. To stay up-to-date with Model UN and future HagertyMun conferences, follow @hagerty_model_un and @hagertymun on Instagram.

“We can’t wait to expand and host this conference again next year,” Pamidimukkala said.