by Maren Kneeland '24
Photos by Maren Kneeland & Tammy Boone

The Gunston Model United Nations Club attended the 59th North American Invitational Model United Nations (NAIMUN LIX)  conference in Washington, D.C. this past weekend,February 17-20, 2022. The conference was run by the Model U.N. Club of Georgetown University, which hosted more than 3,000 students at the Washington Hilton. 

Gunston’s History Department Chair Mr. Mike McFarland, along with Ms. Tammy Boone accompanied 15 students as they got to experience life in D.C. for four days. From buying metro cards, dressing formally, and attending 14 hours of conferences, students were given an immersive career introduction to international affairs. 

On the first day, all the students were led by their coach, Mr. McFarland, through the D.C. Metro System to Dupont Circle where they walked to the Washington Hilton, in which they would spend the next four days in their respective committees. Students were encouraged to explore the nearby cities and indulge in local restaurants. Namely, the most common meal of the trip was the closest small pizza businesses. 

Model UN consists of representing various countries and dealing with topics such as election integrity, pandemic preparedness, and protection of refugees in conflict zones. Attendees, or as they are called, delegates, worked with possibly hundreds of other delegates from all over the world to create artificial solutions to the problems they were given. In total there were 3,000 participants attending the conference. 

Students also had the chance to visit the District Mall where they got to pick a Smithsonian Museum and visit during their respective breaks.