Middle School Girls Explore Global Diplomacy Through Model UN

Hutchison girls in 7th and 8th grades recently participated in the YMCA Middle School Model UN Conference, a citywide event where students engage in civil discourse and open discussion of international issues through role play. Every year, we see how this conference expands the minds of our students and builds their confidence in their own voice, critical thinking, and teamwork.

For weeks, the girls have been working with 7th grade social science teacher Kollin Falk to research issues in assigned countries including Colombia, India, Rwanda, South Africa, and Turkey. They prepared resolutions addressing problems each country faces and have put a lot of time into practicing, presenting, and defending their proposals. Not only does Falk work with our girls on public speaking, but he also prepares our girls to handle intense debates. He encourages our girls to manage any questions or points brought up in discussions with the following tips: 

• Be confident. You are the experts, and you know your research topics.
• Control the conversation. Answer questions but direct back to what you want to discuss.
• Use statistics and percentages.
• Ask them to repeat if a question is confusing or if you need more time to find an answer. This may throw someone off or help you stall.
• Any answer is better than no answer.
• Don’t let anyone throw you off of your topic. Be prepared to say, “That’s outside the scope of our resolution.”
• Expand your answers. The more time you talk, the less time they have to ask questions.

“Mr. Falk did an outstanding job preparing us for the conference. I feel like I was 100% prepared,” Molly Keras ’30 said. “I learned a lot about keeping eye contact and focusing on my body language when presenting. His tip to be confident helped me when I got a question that I didn’t exactly know the answer to.”

Our girls’ hard work shows! The following students were named Outstanding Delegates, an award given within each General Assembly to the students who best represented their countries/delegations: Vera Berryhill ’30, Caroline Campbell ’30, Lila Frazier ’30, Molly Keras ’30, Katherine Pace ’30, Cora Lee Pentecost ’29, Mary Alice Rawson ’29, Charlotte Taylor ’30, and Kaley Thannum ’30

The following delegations were recognized for having Outstanding Resolutions:

• Colombia: Price Allen ’30, Caroline Campbell ’30, and Kira Poole ’30
• India: Eshaal Baig ’30, Lily Hallum ’30, and Isabella Harris ’30
• South Africa: Lark Thompson ’29 and Zoë Young ’29

These groups' resolutions passed at General Assembly:

• El Salvador: Sara Deal ’30, Lila Frazier ’30, and Amelia George ’30
• Eritrea: Victoria Henderson ’29, Caroline Jefferies ’29, Cora Lee Pentecost, and Mary Alice Rawson ’29
• Haiti: Mary Kirk Adams ’30, Vera Berryhill ’30, Mallory Harris ’30, and Bays Wunderlich ’30
• Rwanda: Taylin Anderson ’30, Harper Harris ’30, and Mary Frances Whitehead ’30
• South Africa: Lark Thompson ’29 and Zoë Young ’29
• Turkey: Charlotte Chambliss ’30, Emma Cohn ’30, Katherine Pace ’30, and Evie Thomison ’30
• Turkmenistan: Ava Iskiwitz ’30 and Ceil Mashburn ’30