On March 25 and 26, Maggie Walker held the 24th iteration of its annual Governor’s School Model UN Conference, or GSMUN. With eighteen committees and nearly 500 delegates from middle and high schools all across Central Virginia, it was a return to normalcy.  

In 2021, due to the pandemic, GSMUN had to be held virtually, over Zoom meetings. While it was better than having no conference at all, everyone from the conference’s Secretariat—its 11-student leadership team—to the committee chairs and the delegates found difficulty in the virtual format. Maggie Walker’s Model UN club sponsor, Mr. Max Smith, was thrilled to be returning back to an in-person model for this reason. “Being on the Zoom format did not allow for the level of debate, the type of connections, and the type of conversations that we are more used to seeing in Model UN…It was fulfilling. But in a number of ways, it was underwhelming to do [the conference]in such a cold and sterile environment.” He described the difficulties for delegates to participate in debate actively, having to click the “raise hand” feature on Zoom and dealing with lags between speeches of peer delegates. 

Finally, this year, delegates returned to seeing each other, passing physical notes to collaborate on papers, and spending time outside of committee to get to know each other. “Being able to work alongside like-minded delegates and workshopping ideas with delegates with different viewpoints really made the experience,” stated Sujhan Alwin, a junior from Clover Hill High School and delegate of the Disarmament and International Security committee (DISEC). 

“My goal with the GSMUN was to make it what it was before the pandemic—a professional event welcoming hundreds of delegates from across the East Coast, rivaling college-level conferences, and creating unforgettable experiences for everyone involved,” said the conference’s Secretary-General, Michael Kish. “I'm most proud of the fact that we're able to pass on the GSMUN experience to next year's leaders and that we didn't let the GSMUN flame burn out, even after two years of COVID.”

The delegates in GSMUN also were also able to discuss new issues. With the conference’s theme of “Discover New Paths,” committee topics ranged from the ramifications of the Super League in European soccer to the establishment of a new government in the Philippines, giving representation to many regions of the globe. They also presented unique challenges during committees that the delegates had to respond to on the spot. In one particular case this past year, a crisis staffer dressed up as Julius Caesar for a committee relating to Roman politics. Interesting crises like these and the comfortable environment GSMUN offers make the conference an enjoyable experience for the delegates. MLWGS freshman Virginia Zhang, a crisis staffer during the conference, stated, “​​I was pretty involved in the committee; every so often I would come into committee with my crisis director and give a crisis update, which kept the committee going. It gave me some great beginner experience on how committee works.”

GSMUN also allowed newcomers to Model UN to have a memorable experience, even despite adjusting to the formality of debate. “My partner and I had to adapt to almost every situation, and while this was stressful, figuring out the process with other delegates was a uniquely rewarding social experience,” explained Nicky Lyall, a first-time debater and junior from Clover Hill High School. “GSMUN is one of those events where you end up being exhausted, but somehow find yourself wanting more.”

Spanning two days and filling up the entire school, GSMUN is Maggie Walker’s largest public event, and serves as the premier Model UN conference in Central Virginia for middle and high schoolers. The importance of the conference  is evident from the keynote speaker of the conference this year, Charles Horner, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State under Ronald Reagan and senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. The conference also serves as a highlight of the academic year for Maggie Walker students who participate in the school’s chapter of Model UN, as Dragons gain the opportunity to chair committees and lead debate.

“I really love the research aspect of Model UN,” said junior Carolyn Zhuang, the chair of the Hollywood Commission on Workplace Inequality, a specialized agency that allowed delegates to debate on social justice issues in the Hollywood media industry. “I came up with the idea for this committee after seeing a lot of news on social inequality among really large movie producers in Hollywood. It was really gratifying, watching my idea for the committee come through.”

Ananya Gomatam, the chair for the specialized agency the International Court of Justice, similarly stated, “I loved seeing all the delegates in committee. They were a little hesitant at first, but as committee went on, they became really engaged in debate. It was a great experience.”

Given the large attention GSMUN receives, planning began almost immediately after last year’s conference, with chairs being selected before the summer and everything being put in place before the turn of the new year. Even with nearly 50 volunteers acting as “pages” to make sure the conference ran smoothly, operating GSMUN was no small feat. 

“Planning for GSMUN is pretty hectic throughout the entire year, because there's so much to do and so many people involved—we have to coordinate a 70-member staff, figure out how to feed hundreds of people, connect with sponsors from across the country, and more,” said Kish. “All that said, I was extremely fortunate to have an immensely dedicated Secretariat who excelled at every aspect of their jobs. [Secretariat members] Amar, Lacey, Kira, Ronit, Anandita, Mallory, Sam, Alan, Isabella, Abhay, and of course Mr. Smith, put so much effort into GSMUN.” 

Members of the Secretariat take charge of a range of duties in order to make sure all aspects of the conference are covered. This includes taking charge of outreach, charitable giving, conference-day logistics, and more. Amar Srinivasan, Director General of this past GSMUN, explained his role: “It’s sort of an Assistant Director position, working with Michael, and checking up on committees as well as any random tasks that might come up. This developed system of communication and task-handling by the Secretariat allowed for the conference to bounce back successfully from its virtual format last year.” Srinivasan further highlighted, “I was extremely proud of our team this year and it was nice to see the positive feedback from students and sponsors involved.”

GSMUN also serves a greater purpose. Every year, the conference leaders choose a nonprofit organization to receive the proceedings from the conference, and this year was no different. This year, the charity was World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit devoted to providing meals in the wake of natural disasters. In previous years, GSMUN has raised thousands of dollars for those charities, with everyone pitching in, and this year, the conference raised more than ten thousand dollars for the charity. The charity represents a great pillar of GSMUN and further goes to illustrate the Walker Way through its community aspect. Smith emphasized, “It's not just talking about world events and world problems, it's doing something about them.” Smith went to further highlight how Maggie Walker’s tradition of inviting a keynote speaker truly displays Maggie Walker’s mission of creating an international community. “The conference directly aligns with all of the values of the Walker Way and promotes community by having this huge conference, bringing in all sorts of speakers from across the country and occasionally, even from abroad.” 

Speaking on the charity choice of World Central Kitchen, GSMUN’s Director of Charitable Giving, Abhay Duggirala, stated, “Our whole team agreed that the global disaster relief work that World Central Kitchen facilitated embodied the conference's motto of ‘Discover New Paths.’”

Duggirala further described how the conference gave him an opportunity to “take a direct role in creating tangible change in our global communities.” Duggirala stated, “As the Director of Charitable Giving, I was responsible for picking our charity and keeping in contact with them, raising money for the charity before the conference, securing our charity speaker, and raising money for the charity during the conference.” He also played a large role in fundraising throughout the conference itself, in moving around a charity cart to sell baked goods, raffle tickets, and merchandise for charity. 

It is difficult to overstate GSMUN’s legacy and significance for Maggie Walker. “I think it's easily one of the most important traditions that we have here at the school. I really see Model UN, Model Congress, and We the People as being flagship organizations that really support what it means to be an international studies school,” Smith said. “Being able to work with such high caliber students that are really interested in international studies and international relations is a real key part in supporting the mission and vision of the school.”

For the Secretariat, taking on these positions in their senior year represents a final, rewarding yet bittersweet moment in their high school Model UN experience. Many of the students, including Kish, participated in GSMUN as delegates in middle school, and were once seated across the platform of the auditorium they now stand on. “I first attended GSMUN as a seventh grader and had an absolute blast,” Kish said. “It's been a hugely important opportunity for me, not just because it let me improve several skills such as leadership and debate, but also because it helped me form some great friendships.”

The Secretariat is hopeful for the future of the conference and what comes next, continuing to grow its registrations, donations, and community outreach.“Before the pandemic, GSMUN was steadily growing, raising more money and bringing in more delegates than the previous year. My hope is that the next GSMUN will be able to do just that and surpass what we did this year,” Kish said. “Whatever future GSMUN leaders decide to do, I know they'll only continue to make GSMUN better than ever before.”