Hundreds of high school students come from all around the country to participate in the William & Mary High School Model United Nations (WMHSMUN) conference. This year was the conference’s 37th recurrence, and it contained 24 committees on various topics. Numerous Maggie Walker students attend the conference and received multiple awards: Verbal Commendations for Ritvika Palani (‘25), Anushri Ramesh (‘26), Tanvi Palavalas (‘25), Keira Kinnier (‘25), Brenden Stremler (‘25), and Sriyutha Morishetty (‘25), Honorable Mentions for Sophia Pareti (‘24) and Imran Aly Rasiwalla (‘24), Outstanding Delegates for Aditya Badhrayan (‘25) and Priyanka Nyamtabad (‘27), and a Best Delegate for Deepanshi Kumar (‘26). 

Sriyutha Morishetty (‘25), one of the Maggie Walker Delegates that attended WMHSMUN, explained, “This was my second year at this conference, so I felt more acclimated to the whole experience. I knew where to get dinner and how to navigate the campus.” Morishetty highlighted the incredible values that WMHSMUN emphasizes, such as, “having substance in debates.” She also commended the chairs of WMHSMUN for “always being so knowledgeable and passionate.” Morishetty expressed her gratitude towards WMHSMUN and exclaimed, “I couldn’t be more thankful for the friends, memories, sandwiches at the cheese shop, and people I’ve met at the conference!”

Aditya Badhrayan (‘25) agreed, “My favorite part of the conference was definitely being able to meet so many people from across the country.” Badhrayan thoroughly enjoyed the conference and explained how it helped him become a better public speaker, but also gave him the opportunity to build connections with new people. Deepanshi Kumar (‘26) also had only positive remarks about the Model UN conference at William and Mary. Having been to a  dozen conferences, he said, “This one felt different because everyone was really excited about the debate, and you could see the energy that our delegates brought to the conference, which was awesome”. As this conference hosts over 1000 students, Kumar described that not only did WMHSMUN provide opportunities to bond with the MLWGS delegation, but the committee sessions allowed for delegates to “​​meet so many talented people from other schools.” 

Clearly, the Maggie Walker delegation had a great time at the conference meeting other students, touring the campus, and gaining more knowledge about Model UN. In addition, Maggie Walker students performed exceptionally well at William and Mary’s Model UN conference, representing the school well. Throughout the conference, many students gained new skills of debate, research, and international understanding. College conferences are always able to provide students with an excellent learning experience where students can really dive in and flourish as debaters.