Representing countries as small as Estonia and as large as India, University High School students tried their hand at diplomacy at last week’s Indianapolis Model United Nations Conference.

Nearly 70 students — roughly 20% of the school population — participated in the conference at IUPUI on Thursday, March 14 and Friday, March 15.

University students got to be delegates of eleven different countries — Argentina, Australia, Canada, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Estonia, India, Kenya, Netherlands, North Korea, and Russia. Students researched their assigned country and represented their country’s interests in the following Model UN committees:

• General Assembly (GA)
• Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
• Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC)
• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
• World Health Organization (WHO)
• Security Council

At the end of the two-day conference, organizers presented awards to some of the outstanding delegates. The following University High School students were recognized for great work during the conference:

• Eric Bonar — Commended Delegate (North Korea, GA)
• Daniel Vesper — Distinguished Delegate (Russia, GA)
• Caitlin Clark — Distinguished Delegate (Canada, OHCHR)
• Molly Bickle — Honorable Mention (Canada, UNHCR)
• Charlotte Kumler — Honorable Mention (Russia, WHO)
• Austin Clark — Commended Delegate (Crisis Committee)
• Joella Layman — Distinguished Delegate (Crisis Committee)
• Kenzie Allen — Honorable Mention (Crisis Committee)