While most of their classmates were on campus, on the fourth floor of City Hall, Dylan Steinfeld '27, Coopers Mears '27, Kylie Roberson '28 and Sara Pradhan '28 stood before a room full of middle schoolers from various schools. Despite being the first group to present and some of their first times participating in a Model UN competition, the Lynx committee was confident in their diplomatic approach and knowledge as delegates for Slovakia.
"It was a little nerve-racking to be the first group to present, but we felt prepared and ready to take on any debate," Mears shared about his Model UN experience. "It was awesome to do this at City Hall and finally reveal what we'd been preparing."
The same enthusiasm could be seen a few floors down in the historic downtown building and across the street in the Shelby County building courtrooms as four other groups of Lausanne's Model UN participants represented their assigned countries.
"Once we settled in and began presenting our issue and resolution, we felt more at ease," Model UN participant and Lausanne eighth-grader Shanaya Phokarna '27 said. "I think the competition really helped me gain public speaking courage."
Delegates from several middle schools around the Mid-South participated. The competition is set up to simulate the actual United Nations, allowing students to form delegations and represent member countries' interests in the General Assembly by drafting and debating resolutions. These resolutions cover various topics of international concern, and each delegation must write a unique General Assembly resolution on any issue they deem important to the international community.
"I enjoyed competing in this Model UN competition, and I feel like I gained a lot from the competition," Lausanne eighth-grader Liya Shomony '27 said. "We learn a lot at Lausanne about being a leader and working together as a team to achieve our goals, and I feel like we were able to use that to our advantage during the competition while also learning how to use those skills in a different setting."
Multiple Lausanne participants earned awards at the competition, which included:
Outstanding Resolution Award:
- A Resolution to Provide Refugees in Niger and Mali with Shelter and Needed Resources
Emma Berger '27, Sam Califf '27, Shanaya Pokharna '27 and Jiya Shah '29.
Outstanding Delegate Awards:
- Cooper Mears ’27 – Slovakia
- Shanaya Pokharna ’27 – Niger
- Mohid Salman ’29 – Burundi
Way to go, Lynx!