Maggie Walker’s 25th annual Governor’s School Model United Nations Conference, GSMUN, was both a significant benchmark and milestone in many ways, all culminating into an exciting two days from March 17th to March 18th. Maggie Walker hosted over 500 delegates from schools all across the country, and raised over $12,000 for the conference’s selected charity, Communities in Schools. Over the past months, GSMUN’s secretariat, staff, and sponsors have worked tirelessly to make GSMUN XXV a success, and this year’s Secretary-General, Annabel Tang (‘23), joined a legacy of 24 previous Secretary-Generals in continuing GSMUN’s mission statement of student engagement and global learning. The work in preparation for GSMUN XXV commenced in May of 2022, when GSMUN XXIV Secretary-General passed the torch down to this year’s Secretariat. The work began with choosing a charity for the conference to support, determining what committee topics and chairs to select for the conference, and planning out the barebone logistics for the conference. Then, over the summer, chairs for GSMUN researched and wrote the bulk of their background guides, while meeting with their respective Secretariat members for multiple editing meetings during the school year.

GSMUN’s leadership team, the Secretariat, played an enormous role in planning and executing the conference. Annabel Tang (‘23) headed the effort as the Secretary-General for the conference, overseeing and taking on a large part of the work that is put into the conference, including logistics, coordination, funds, and charity. Although Tang acknowledges the heavy workload that comes with planning the conference, she reflects on GSMUN as an “incredibly rewarding experience.” Likewise, each member of the Secretariat had assigned roles in GSMUN. Ada Woo (‘23), the Undersecretary-General for Logistics, handled a wide range of logistics-related responsibilities, which included “ordering all delegate materials, all food related aspects of the conference for delegates and staff, curated sponsors’ gifts to each school delegation’s sponsor, coordinated volunteers, and everything in between.” Carolyn Zhuang (‘23),the Undersecretary-General for External Communications, was responsible for “editing background guides, creating the Sponsor and Delegate Handbooks, and organizing volunteers.” In addition, Zhuang, along with Shreyas Muthusamy (‘23), also developed a Rubric System for GSMUN this year, which would serve as a more holistic and unbiased way to judge delegates during the conference. Mona Garimella (‘23), the Chargé d’Affaires, largely handled outreach, commenting that she “enjoyed seeing sponsors and delegates who return time and time again to our conference. I think that it’s a true testament to how professional our conference is.” Like many MLWGS students, Garimella “did not realize how much the secretariat did behind the scenes until [she] personally helped plan the conference this year,” but with the efforts of an over 100-member team, GSMUN was a success. Specifically during the week leading up to the conference, Tang acknowledged the hassle and work that needed to be done, but in times of chaos, she remembered to reflect on the conference, and to “take a moment to take a step back and think about the club as a whole and how many people are involved.”

The overwhelming gratitude for the Secretariat is apparent in every chair and staff member at GSMUN, the success of GSMUN XXV spearheaded by this year’s Secretariat, led by Secretary-General Annabel Tang. Tanvi Palavalas (‘25) expressed this as such, saying “our Secretariat has worked tirelessly and we have really been able to elevate our conference this year.” The Secretariat began working all the way back in May of 2022, building the foundations of the 25th iteration of the conference, establishing logistics, and deciding the barebone idea of each committee. As the months prior to the conference moved forward, the workload for each Secretariat member amplified. Garimella shared that much of her position as Charge d’Affaires consisted of handling outreach and registration, inviting delegates and schools, maintaining proper tracking of payments, as well as sending out the materials necessary for the conference. This heavy responsibility required a lot of work and commitment, with Garimella saying “I heavily relied on spreadsheets and constant communication with Dr. Smith.” Garimella’s dedication to this role was a major factor in ensuring the success of GSMUN 25. Woo, the Undersecretary-General for Logistics, handled a variety of extremely integral pieces of the conference, including the coordination of volunteers, ordering delegate materials, coordinating gifts for visiting sponsors, as well as everything in between. While working as a fundamental member of the GSMUN Secretariat, Woo shared “I’ve learned that teamwork certainly makes the dream work!” The consistent dedication of the Secretariat inspired the success of what could quite possibly be called the best GSMUN conference in Maggie Walker history.

With the guidance of the Secretariat, chairs diligently prepared for committee, researching each topic for hours on end, pouring all of their hard work into writing a background guide, and crafting the perfect committee for the delegates. For the chairs, preparations had begun well in advance. Rohini Mudinur (‘24) expressed the level of dedication that went into the background guides, saying she and her co chair “purchased a book, watched tv shows and documentaries, and listened to podcasts before even starting the background guide.” This dedication was evident in each and every chair’s background guide, and the feedback they received from delegates showcased as such. Sonia Chornodolsky (‘25) said, “all of our delegates talked about how much they loved our background guide,” and to her, as well as her co chair, this feedback was amazing to hear as they “put [their] blood sweat and tears into writing the packets for the delegates.”

This year’s conference offered a wide range of committees for delegates to choose from, ranging from the Rise of Pinochet to the Downfall of Theranos. GSMUN boasted five General Assemblies, including one Novice Committee, seven Specialized Committees, and five Crisis Committees, with a Novice Crisis Committee as well. To make debate more interesting and lively, some committees took advantage of “flying delegates,” or mock delegates, done by GSMUN volunteers in order to revitalize debate. Garimella remarks that “flying delegates” were one of her favorite parts of the conference, as “it was just hilarious to see Maggie Walker volunteers who have little to no Model UN experience try to navigate the committee” with just an extremely concise run-down of the committee topics prior to entering debate. The implementation of a “lunch-time crisis” was another non-traditional way delegates were entertained during GSMUN. During the “lunch-time crisis,” chairs and volunteers ransacked certain committee rooms while delegates were at lunch in order to facilitate the flow of debate immediately after lunch. Kyle Rogers, one of the sponsors of GSMUN and teacher at MLWGS, spoke of the lunch time conference, saying “I was so excited to see the dedication that went into it, especially how the crisis team meticulously destroyed the committee room to look ransacked.” This excitement was reflected across the entirety of the crisis team, and their performance continued that excitement for the delegates.

Along with Rogers, GSMUN could not have been the overwhelming success that it was without the guidance of the conference’s head sponsor, Dr. Max Smith. When discussing the accomplishments of GSMUN XXV, Dr. Smith said, “I was particularly pleased to be going into GSMUN XXV and reaching pre-COVID levels for attendance numbers, as well as getting out-of-state schools again.” He continued on with the conference’s accomplishments, sharing that this year was close to breaking the record for money raised for the charitable organization, only off by $500, with $12,000 in total raised this year. This being Rogers’ first year with GSMUN, he shared that while he was slightly panicked from time to time, “I could not have been prouder of how well everyone, from the Secretariat to crisis staffers, did.” This year, it was also announced that Dr. Smith will be stepping down as the head sponsor of Model UN, moving to a support role next year as Rogers fills his shoes. Dr. Smith shared that after seven years in administration, he was finally ready for this transition after Mr. Rogers joined Model UN as a coach, saying “Frankly, I see a lot of myself in Mr. Rogers, with the same drive and passion for this organization.” The legacy Dr. Smith is leaving for Rogers is a large one, but just as it became a part of Dr. Smith’s identity, he only hopes that Rogers finds the same joy and affirmation as he did.

As an integral part of GSMUN’s mission statement, charity holds the power to make real-life change, and for every conference, GSMUN’s Secretariat chooses a charity to support. This year’s charity was Communities in Schools, an organization dedicated to helping students in underprivileged districts transform their educational environments to achieve academic success. CIS had a significant impact on this year’s Charity Speaker, Julie Dillon, commenting, “Having my eyes open to the number of students who don’t have a vision for their future and are unable to see potential in themselves, feels like a real tragedy and feels like something that we should all be invested in.” CIS works to globally ensure equity in education, and the money raised through GSMUN will be allocated to school supplies, family necessities, and various personnel committed to helping at-risk students break inherent societal barriers. GSMUN surpassed its $10,000 goal primarily through fundraisers prior to the conference, such as the ice cream and baked goods sales held in Concessions, and fundraising the day of the conference, mainly from the profit of the charity cart wheeled around from committee to committee room, selling t-shirts, baked goods, stickers, and candy grams. Blasting music and dancing, the charity cart bursted into committee rooms, enthusiastically persuading delegates, chairs, and sponsors to donate to CIS. Embodying GSMUN’s mission of making a tangible impact on the community, the entirety of the money raised will go entirely towards CIS and ensuring “every child to comes to school and has the opportunity to learn and has the opportunity to have their potential ignited and to have a vision for their future,” as Ms. Dillon remarked.

Each year, GSMUN also welcomes a keynote speaker. Someone who holds a vast expanse of knowledge in their field, and the ability to heavily influence and inspire the possible future leaders in the sea of delegates sitting in the auditorium. This year’s keynote speaker was no different. Ambassador James Gilmore, the 68th Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, discussed the current state of the War in Ukraine, imparting the knowledge he learned during his time leading a delegation in Ukraine in May of 2021. As he presented, Ambassador Gilmore also took the time to discuss the possibilities going forward, for Ukraine, America, and the rest of the world. When analyzing these possibilities, Ambassador Gilmore heavily focused on how both foreign and domestic concerns in America played a role in the war. “Your experiences lead you to your points of view,” said Ambassador Gilmore, as he reflected on his responsibilities with different organizations, particularly his most recent one while working with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) as an Ambassador for the United States. Ambassador Gilmore shared that much of his time there involved working with “the Quad,” representatives of France, Germany, and Great Britain, as well as representatives from Eastern Europe, discussing their concerns over their countries’ independence and threats from Russia. Ambassador Gilmore said he was able to “represent the United States, working with all of the other ambassadors, including Russia.” He continued, “I actually liked the Russians; I liked the ambassador, I liked the staff– I thought they were all intelligence officers, but that’s okay, because they were representing their country and I was representing mine.” This deep-rooted quality of diplomacy is commendable, and representative of his successes as a leader, not just for Virginia, but for the United States as well. During his talk with the GSMUN delegates, Ambassador Gilmore made a quick comment noting that not everyone in the room would be a leader–a hard truth for many to face, evident in the quick giggles that erupted. There is much truth in that statement, though. “It’s very easy to be passive,” Ambassador Gilmore said, when reflecting on this statement. “To be a leader, you need to take initiative, take the initiative to lead.” This advice for possible future leaders is not only applicable to Model UN, but to all aspects of life.

All in all, GSMUN XXV was a well-deserved success, thanks to the dedication and hard work of the Secretariat, chairs, staff members, crisis team, volunteers, sponsors, and everyone in between. GSMUN XXV pushed boundaries never before seen in a Model UN conference, with the installation of a rubric system for awards and raising more than $12,000 for Communities in Schools. The achievements of GSMUN will forever exemplify the enthusiasm and commitment of each and every team member involved, as GSMUN stands to remain a conference on par with college-level conferences.