Texas State University students in the Model United Nations (UN) student organization won several group and individual awards at the Southern Regional Model United Nations (SRMUN) competition from March 19-23 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
At the SRMUN competition, students debated numerous global topics ranging from combating the illegal mining and trafficking of precious metals to expanding cybersecurity capabilities to protect critical information infrastructure in developing member states.
About 600 students, comprising of 75 delegations from 45 universities, competed in the competition. Participating universities included the University of Colorado, University of Central Florida, Auburn University, Clemson University, Georgia Tech, and more.
"I had a great time at SRMUN this year," said Ethan Guinn, president of Model UN. "This was my second year, so I was happy to share tips with the members who are new to SRMUN on succeeding in the competition. I think it paid off, and I was so happy to see all the awards we received."
TXST students represented the nations of the Argentine Republic, the Republic of South Africa, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan at SRMUN.
This marks the eighth SRMUN competition in a row that Model UN students have had at least one delegation placing in the top three. Additionally, Model UN students earned the most individual and team awards in their history competing in the SRMUN competition.
The complete list of the awards and honors received by TXST students includes:
Preston Love and Nolan Ruhland
- Best Delegate (1st Place in Committee), Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Savanna Tremback and Oscar Friend
- Co-Best Delegate (1st Place in Committee), General Assembly Plenary
Ali Tinubu and Branden Henderson
- Co-Best Delegate (1st Place in Committee), General Assembly Plenary
Lucy Beaty and Sofia Hernandez
- Co-Best Delegate (1st Place in Committee), International Telecommunications Union
Em Boegel and Alazne Leon
- Co-Best Delegate (1st Place in Committee), International Telecommunications Union
Ali Tinubu and Branden Henderson
- Best Position Paper (1st Place in Committee), General Assembly Plenary
Colm Graham, Eris Andrews, Ali Tinubu, Branden Henderson, Em Boegel, Alazne Leon, Emma Hopkins, Alli McCalla, and Simon Kinski
- Co-Outstanding Position Paper (1st Place Overall), Team South Africa
Savanna Tremback, Oscar Friend, Leah Gonsalves, Emily Wheatley, Ethan Guinn, and Emily Hanna
- Co-Outstanding Position Paper (1st Place Overall), Team Iran
Savanna Tremback, Oscar Friend, Leah Gonsalves, Emily Wheatley, Ethan Guinn, and Emily Hanna
- Co-Honorable Delegation (3rd Place Overall), Team Iran
Ashton Hansen, Sofia Hernandez, Lucy Beaty, Lauren Dekan, and Myra Bennett
- Co-Honorable Delegation (3rd Place Overall), Team North Korea
Colm Graham, Eris Andrews, Ali Tinubu, Branden Henderson, Em Boegel, Alazne Leon, Emma Hopkins, Alli McCalla, and Simon Kinski
- Co-Distinguished Delegation (2nd Place Overall), Team South Africa
Gabriel Marquez, Joel Scott, Nolan Ruhland, Preston Love, Valentina Ardila-Rosales, and Caroline Cambron
- Co-Distinguished Delegation (2nd Place Overall), Team Argentina
Visit the Model United Nations webpage for more information on the student organization.