Fresno State’s inaugural Model United Nations team returned home with multiple wins after attending the 73rd Model United Nations of the Far West Conference in San Francisco in April.

Fresno State’s team consisted of seniors Thomas E. Bell, Christopher Boyles, Madison Fuller, Cree Fuller, Jesus Lopez  and Julian Lopez; juniors Lilli Boch, Mackenzie German, Osvaldo Hidalgo, Nathan Imperatrice, and Jesus Z. Lopez; and graduate student Ahmed Metwally.

Fresno State’s team represented China, Honduras, and Belarus and brought back three awards. The delegates for Belarus and China won achievement awards in the “art of diplomacy.” The Security Council delegates won an Outstanding Resolution award for having “demonstrated excellence in cooperation, creative and critical thinking, and legislative writing.”

The team of 12 students prepared for the four-day conference through a course designed by political science professor Dr. Nataliia Kasianenko and taught by Kasianenko and Dr. Melanie Ram.  Kasianenko and Ram coached the team, and Ram accompanied the students to the conference.

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San Francisco Is UN’s Birthplace

About two dozen universities attended the competition in San Francisco — the birthplace of the United Nations. Universities in attendance represented 72 of the U.N.’s 193 sovereign states. Each student in attendance represents a country in a U.N. committee at the conference. Participants at the conference negotiated resolutions on topics related to this year’s theme, human security.

“Many of the students at the conference from other universities have participated for two or three years in a row, so we were certainly excited that our students had such strong and active participation in all of their committees in our inaugural year,” Ram said.

Model United Nations is a simulation program for college students that has been around since 1951. College students participate in model sessions of the U.N. in an effort to advance and understand the principles and means by which international relations are maintained.

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Model United Nations of the Far West is one of the oldest and longest running Model United Nations organizations in the world.

Ram said Fresno State’s team and its returning students hope to participate again in 2025 when the theme will be sustainable development goals.