by Tyler Ove ’22
Coming off a strong first-place finish at Mentor V, the Model UN team attended the College of William & Mary’s annual conference, WMHSMUN XXXIV, with high hopes from November 6th through 7th. William & Mary has been a competitive conference for over three decades, having been nationally recognized for its merit. From https://bestdelegate.com’s top 25 national rankings, of which they are a part of, the DiploCats faced off against Thomas Jefferson, Langley, and Centennial. Although only including award-winning teams, the overall conference standings were as follows:
- Thomas Jefferson (Alexandria, VA)
- Langley (McLean, VA)
- St. Ignatius (Cleveland, OH)
- Maggie Walker (Richmond, VA)
- McLean (McLean, VA)
- Bishop Ireton (Alexandria, VA)
- Centennial (Roswell, GA)
- Bronx School for Science (Bronx, NY)
- Henrico (Richmond, VA)
- Bloomington North (Bloomington, IN)
- Hockaday (Dallas, TX)
- Townsend (Queens, NY)
- Needham Broughton (Raleigh, NC)
- Archimedean (Miami, FL)
- Greenwich (Greenwich, CT)
- George Mason (Falls Church, VA)
- Lindon Hall (Lititz, PA)
- Kennett (Kennett Square, PA)
Like Mentor, this conference was virtual, with each committee taking place in its own Zoom server. Committee topics ranged from dealing with the economic challenges of COVID-19 in the Economic and Financial Affairs Committee to planning for the construction of Atlantis in the year 3000 to establishing independence from Spain in the Catalan secession. Debate was thorough and numerous resolutions/directives were both proposed and passed by St. Ignatius delegates.
Bringing 31 delegates to the competition, 14 less than 2019’s trip to Williamsburg, Ignatius brought home a total of 4 individual awards as opposed to last year’s 6. While not being quite the performance that was hoped for, it was still enough for a podium finish. With no Verbal Commendations or Best Delegate awards, the winners were:
Honorable Mention
Brendan Oliss ‘21 – Ragnarok
Ferenc Somogyi ‘21 – Catalan Secession
Outstanding Delegate
Bert Wirtz ‘23 – Abraham Lincoln’s Cabinet
Tyler Ove ‘22 – Catalan Secession
While all of these awards are impressive, perhaps the most intriguing is second-year Bert Wirtz’s Outstanding Delegate. Having just achieved a separate Outstanding Delegate at Mentor (https://www.saintignatiuseye.org/2020/11/17/model-un-finishes-first-at-mentor-v/), Bert has established himself as a frontrunner among underclassmen during his successful early-season performance. Exploring the benefits that Model UN can have on your skillset, career, and college application, Bert holds that “MUN is a great program that really helps students to learn about other nations, international relations, and diplomacy. It is a great way to enjoy yourself while practicing public speaking skills and gaining experience in debates.” The Model UN team, done with their first-semester competitions, will ideally work hard into the second semester, as they seek a better showing at the University of Michigan (MUNUM XXXIV) in February. Go Cats!
A few of last year’s Williamsburg pictures from WMHSMUN XXXIII
