Model UN Team Earns Honors at Empire Conference

Twenty members of the SLS Model UN team competed in the annual Empire Conference, hosted by New York University. We are excited to share that the team came home with some big wins!

Chris Briggs '24 was awarded the conference’s highest honor, Best Delegate, for his work in the Netherlands Labour Party in the European Union Parliament. Cassidy Cui '25 earned Honorable Mention for Best Delegate for representing Eli Schimdt in the United States Department of Agriculture Committee. Juana Marque '26 and Reese Kubick '25 also earned verbal commendations for their representation of the U.S.A. in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Beatrix Black in the Harry Potter Committee, respectively. 

In addition to other General Assembly Committees, such as the World Health Organization, the Arab League, and General Disarmament and International Security, members also participated in Crisis Committees. Crisis Committees focus on a specific event and require participants to make decisions based on real-time updates. This year, our team made significant contributions to the Hawaiian Kingdom Crisis, United Nations of Earth (2300), and Italian Unification. 

In between tournament sessions, our team spent free time exploring New York City’s SoHo district and visiting the Museum of Ice Cream and the Museum of Chinese in America. Up next is the UPENN Philadelphia Tournament, which will take place Jan. 26-29. If you’re interested in joining the team, please contact Model UN Club Advisor Abby Abbott. 

EMPIRE TOURNAMENT PARTICIPANTS:
Jack Barker '25
Henry Basham '26
Chris Briggs '24
Cassidy Cui '25
Josephine DeMarco '23
May Frelinghuysen '25
Samantha Gerber '25
Charlie Hobson '25
Reese Kubick '25
Tylie Kubick '26
Madeline Levin '26
Justina Marque '26
Juana Marque '26
Gigi McWhorter '25
Marley Price '25
Malcolm Stewart '24
Olivia Tate '26
Holland Whitacre '25
Iris Weizer '26
Makeda West '26