By Jackie Fletcher, Features Editor

After many weeks of preparation, 12 students who are members of the Model United Nations (MUN) team attended the Seton Hall University Model United Nations conference on April 16 and 17.

As one of many extracurricular clubs offered at Trinity Hall, the MUN team, which was started this year and is advised by Nicole Sadowski, adds to the diversity of the education and helps to promote public speaking, diplomatic, writing and social skills.

“Model United Nations gives us a global perspective on issues that our world faces and makes us feel like we are a part of something bigger than just being at a high school conference,” sophomore Catherine Loder said.

The Model UN team of (pictured L to R) Jackie F., Kathryn M., Gina R., Catherine L., Hannah R., Pallavi K. and Julia H. attended its first MUN conference at Seton Hall University on April 16-17. Photo by Nicole Sadowski

MUN is a national organization that seeks to forge hypothetical solutions or agreements in response to real-world problems from both the past and present among its “delegates” who attend MUN conferences. These delegates behave in a manner called parliamentary procedure that is extremely similar to how a real United Nations summit would be conducted, thereby providing authentic experiences to all who participate. Furthermore, authentic directives and resolutions are drafted throughout the conference to ensure that the solutions are pragmatic and practical and so that voting procedure can occur on the proposed “legislation.”

The students were assigned to several different councils at the conference, including the Russian Empire Council and Japanese Empire Council, which deal with past events, and the Human Rights Council, General Assembly, World Health Organization and Arab League, which concern current events.

“It was nice to meet so many different people from different cultures and see our different approaches to real-life situations,” sophomore Julia Henning said.

In addition to expanding their global views and developing important skills, the conference also afforded the students with the opportunity to meet students from many different schools across NJ.

“It was a great atmosphere to be a part of, and I can’t wait to go back!” sophomore Gina Rienzo said.

While the MUN team will not be attending any more conferences this school year, the members are continuing to work diligently to cultivate their skills and knowledge, as they plan to attend multiple conferences during the 2016-17 school year.