Hunter Model UN Takes Top Prizes at Nationals in Washington, D.C.

The Hunter College Model U.N. Team kept its unbroken streak of prize-winning competitions when it competed at the National Model U.N. conference in Washington, D.C., representing the United States and the Russian Federation.

Aleksandr Akulov, a senior at Hunter, and Josephine Djonovic, a sophomore, both first-time Model U.N. delegates, won Outstanding Delegate in Committee awards for their work in the General Assembly Economic and Financial Committee and the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee. Akulov, a Macaulay Honors student at Hunter who is majoring in economics and political science, said, "One word that comes to mind about the Model U.N. national competition is camaraderie; I developed friendships that will last a lifetime."

The Hunter team had been briefed at the United States and French missions to the U.N. and by CUNY Diplomat in Residence Thomas Armbruster on the issues confronting the Russian Federation and the United States, the two countries that the Hunter team represented.

Junior Jarret Freeman, a political science major who represented the U.S. on the Security Council at the competition said,  "As a student who is interested in a career in diplomacy, the Model U.N. helped me feel prepared for the challenges that lie ahead."

The Hunter team, whose members speak two dozen languages, also received an Honorable Mention award for the overall delegation representing the United States.

Team Hunter

The two head delegates, junior Katherine Salinas and senior Yevgeniy Feyman led the team in its research and position papers preparation. Said Feyman, "The months we spent arduously preparing for this conference paid off and I couldn't be more proud of our delegates." Salinas, Vice-President of the Hunter College Student Political Science Association, was recently back from a leadership position at the South Korea Global Model U.N.

Jesse Ng, a first semester Model U.N. sophomore said, "It was a rewarding, hands-on experience that taught me about diplomacy and teamwork, and Andrew Joyce, a junior, added, "Working in the Security Council as the United States, I got a view of the international pressure that major power face in global policymaking."

Teammates Eden Volkov, Inhae Song, Audrey Steinon, Diana Mays, Kathleen Touset, Olya Nesterova, Keri Sinclair, Antonella Jimenez, Ciaran Reidy, Emanuelle  Zagoria, Livia Solustri represented committees including NATO, the Commission on the Status of Women and the Security Council, aided by Senior Advisors Christine Battiloro, Jeffrey Ruiz and Alisa Gore, in the class taught by Team Faculty Advisor, Professor Pamela Falk.

Audrey Stienon, a Macaulay Honors sophomore pursuing a major in political science and a minor in public Policy, said that the education in negotiation theory and method is Unparalleled. Antonella Jimenez, a sophomore with a double major in political science and biochemistry and a MBRS-RISE program scholar at Hunter chimed in, "The first day at the competition was super intimidating, hectic and exciting but by the second day I walked into committee with much more confidence, laptop in hand, with a negotiation plan and by the end of the conference, I had designed two resolutions; it was like watching a baby walk for the first time."