Monmouth University’s Model United Nations (MUN) Team sent 31 students to the National Model United Nations (NMUN) Conference in Washington, D.C. (Nov. 7 to 9). This conference attracts universities from across the United States (California, Oregon, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, etc.) and the world (Belgium, Italy, Peru, Mexico, etc.).
Monmouth’s MUN Team ran its winning streak up to nine consecutive conferences. At NMUN, the Monmouth delegation (overall team) earned the Distinguished Delegation award for representing Brazil, South Africa, and Singapore on six different UN committees. At this large, competitive conference, this is a fantastic accomplishment.
Individually, Philip Pussilano [Jr/PS-HLS] and Chris Feliks [Jr/PS-BE] earned coveted Position Paper awards for their work representing Brazil on the UN’s Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), the UN’s body tasked with monitoring and reducing the global illicit drug trade. Their proposal combined AI and targeted economic development aid geared toward exportable locally produced crops, that is, products able to earn hard currency on international markets. They incorporated the research of Nobel Prize-winning economist Douglass North and the policy successes of Chile since the 1960s. Their research and grasp of complex concepts in economic development separated their work from that of other universities on the CND committee.
Monmouth’s Head Delegates Anthony Tesoriero [Jr/BE] and Philip Pussilano prepared and organized the 31-student team, which represented the countries of Brazil, South Africa, and Singapore on a range of UN committees focused on nuclear weapons, global warming, international narcotics trade, sustainable tourism, etc. Strong student leaders are key to successful student clubs at Monmouth—and Model UN is lucky to have such strong student leaders!
Over the three-day conference, delivering especially strong individual performances were the following students: Anthony Tesoriero, Philip Pussilano, Veronica Belloso (Sr/PS), Kym Davis (So/PS), Giavanna Cangialosi (Jr/PS), Warda Chowdhury (So/BY), Eleanor Parks-Orr (Sr/BY), Erin Mikell (Sr/PS-BE), Able Rymar (Sr/PS), Chris Feliks, Juli Casey (So/PS), Frank Dige (So/PS), and Alyssa Taylor (Jr/PS).
All 31 students contributed to Monmouth’s strong overall performance and team award. NMUN is a large, difficult conference; individual committees often have over 200 students. Formal speeches, group negotiations, and policy writing in this context are challenging. Rounding out the Monmouth team were the following students: Sophia Ianno (Jr/PS-CO), Leslie Rosario (So/PS), Karla Gonzalez (So/PS), Viktoria Stojceski (So/PS), Melanie McGowan-Pollack (Jr/PS), Addison Butler (So/BE), Lola Salyamov (Fr/PS), Mel Silva Almeida (Fr/MA), Amelia Maffet (Fr/BE), Ethan Fisher (So/BE), Alex Caruso (So/PS), Dominick Turi (Sr/CE), Sebastian Delgado (Fr/PS), Arsen Shafran (Sr/BE), Gabriel Arocho (Fr/PS), Nicholas Costanzo (Jr/BE), Sophia Munoz (Jr/PS), and Brandon Alvarado-Sanchez (So/PS-PY).
Monmouth’s MUN Team and students wish to thank President Patrick F. Leahy, Vice President of Student Affairs Jim Pillar, the Student Government Association, the Political Science Program faculty, and Department Coordinator Wendy Harris, all of whom have supported the MUN students and their interest in international affairs and competing in high-level academic competitions.
NMUN in D.C. marks the end of the fall semester activities of Monmouth’s Model UN Team. During the fall semester, Monmouth attended and won awards at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. For the upcoming spring semester, Monmouth’s Model UN team is scheduled to compete at four conferences: (1) Harvard University, (2) University College London in the United Kingdom, (3) Rider University, and (4) the University of Zurich in Switzerland.
Students interested in Model UN are encouraged to reach out to student captains Anthony Tesoriero and Philip Pussilano or faculty advisor Ken Mitchell, professor of political science. Go MUN Hawks!
