Seventeen of our Middleburg Academy Model UN Club delegates traveled to Washington, DC last weekend and competed in the 54th Annual North American Invitational Model United Nations Conference (NAIMUN) at the Washington, DC Hilton. Over 3,600 delegates attended, coming from numerous high schools across the U.S., as well as numerous foreign countries, including China, Pakistan, Germany, England, and Denmark.

Beginning on Thursday evening, the student delegates were immersed in intense parliamentary discussions, negotiations, caucusing, and speech-making sessions until midday on Sunday.

Throughout the weekend, there were numerous opportunities for questioning, relationship building, and resolving of crises. First related and constantly reinforced throughout the weekend, the stated goals of the NAIMUN Conference were "inspiring, educating, and empowering" the delegates. Certainly, our Middleburg Academy students left feeling that way.

Through the long weekend's breakneck pace of training sessions, committee meetings, panel discussions, and related Model UN commitments, the students also found time to visit DC-area sights, in particular, the National Gallery of Art. A number of students were able to identify and discuss numerous works of art from their History and Art classes at MA.

"While we didn't come away with any awards," stated Faculty Advisor, Maurice Rapp, "we were so impressed at how well our student-delegates held their own against such formidable competition." As team captain, Makayla Hardesty '17 did a diligent job organizing and preparing the delegates. Of particular note, Loki Drucker '18 –a/k/a "datavampire" – was a key deal-maker in the Anonymous Hacker Summit and Jake Rossi '18 – Dr. Alaa Al-Aswany - exerted a great deal of influence on the Supreme Council of the Egyptian Armed Forces - June 2013. Another highlight was the exhilarating experience Callista Daly '19, and Colley Bell '20 had as Members of the boisterous British Parliament; "Huzzah"!

After a busy, challenging, exciting and tiring three and a half days, the students returned to school with a much better perspective on how the parliamentary process works at the UN as well as how important and necessary it is to do proper research, preparation, and practice to be successful. Whether speech making, negotiating or mediating peer interactions, the student delegates now know better what will be necessary to enjoy success in future competitions. Overall, NAIMUN Fifty-Four was a success for the Middleburg Academy Model UN Team!