Friends' Central Students Receive Accolades and Inspiration at Penn's Model UN

The following was provided to Patch by Friends’ Central:

On Sunday, Feb. 1, 21 Friends’ Central students, including three Chinese students studying at FCS through exchange programs, attended the Ivy League Model United Nations Conference (ILMUNC). The world-renowned program, hosted by the University of Pennsylvania’s International Affairs Association, attracts over 3,000 of the world’s brightest young minds to debate current issues in world affairs. Five Friends’ Central students were recognized for their outstanding contributions to the conference. Seniors Alex Kalman and Justin Burdge won Outstanding Delegate awards, and sophomore Emma Verges, junior Jessica Shields, and sophomore Sam Weiss were given Verbal Commendations.

This group of Upper Schoolers began working in August, with planning meetings, discussions, and other efforts by senior captains Alex Kalman, Justin Burdge, and Stefan Sultan, who did not want to waste a moment. The full group, advised by history teachers Gary Nicolai and Kelley Graham, began meeting three times a week and during some community blocks. “We decided that we really wanted to make the most of this amazing opportunity we were given and take this year’s competitions very seriously,” Kalman said.

Since its founding in 1984 by Gary Nicolai, Friends’ Central’s Model UN has grown, increasing the number of conferences from one a year to three planned conferences this year: Rutgers’ RUMUN, Penn’s ILMUNC, and one yet-to-be determined additional conference. Emma Verges ’17, a first-time delegate, noted that ILMUNC was a content rich and engaging conference that required diplomacy and tact. “Once blocks are formed, we had informal caucus, making sure our ideas stuck in the final resolution.”

The intense competition tempts some to win by any means necessary. For the FCS team, though, Nicolai gave the students explicit rules to play by the letter and spirit it of the conference. Kalman related that Nicolai ensured all the delegates were there for the experience and not for recognition. “Mr. Nic stresses that you can’t be a shark in committee -- (come with a pre-written resolution or other disingenuous tactics). It’s very authentic; he ensures that.” Verges added, “For us, it was more important to get our ideas across [and to be included in the final resolution] than making sure our names were on the final draft.”

Kalman said that the awards were not the end goal but instead external validation for their work. “What I’ve learned through Mr. Nic, who’s been an excellent advisor throughout the process, is that Model UN is about the experience: combining all the interpersonal, research, and public speaking skills we had to develop while preparing, then taking those skills to a four-day conference and being able to collaborate and achieve a common goal.” Kalman explained, “It’s about being able to work well and solve real-world issues with people we’ve just met. It’s never been about the awards.”

Model UN at Friends’ Central has been an inspirational start for many students, including Ben Fogel FCS alum from the Class of 2013, now a member of the Class of 2017 at the University of Pennsylvania, editor of the Penn Political Review, and a member of the International Affairs Association in which he helped organize UPMUNC, Penn’s collegiate Model UN conference. Fogel credits his experience at FCS as the catalyst for his commitment to public service. “FCS left me with more questions about good governance, civil society, and the world around me than answers - a truly invaluable gift.” Fogel plans to attend law school and has aspirations for a career in public policy, a decision, he imagines, is “due in no small part to my days preparing for Model UN with Mr. Nicolai in the computer labs or practicing my opening statement for mock trial in the Lecture Hall with Mr. Morris.”

Nicolai ensures that Friends’ Central’s program stays true to the spirit of authentic cooperation and insists his students approach discussions with each other honestly, despite temptations to deceive and undercut the positions of other delegates. “Model UN is really an outgrowth of what students learn in the classroom, and I want students to put their principles into practice.” Nicolai feels the program is well supported by Friends’ Central’s Upper School curriculum, which prepares students well for informed debates by covering coursework on Political Realism regarding Melos and Peloponnesian War unit in 9th grade history, Conflict Resolution in grade 10, 11th grade American History course, and a number of electives in grade 12, enabling students to learn the causes, effects, and resolution of conflict. He added, “Taking part in Model UN is really about taking the knowledge students have learned in the classroom, challenging them to work together with other students from around the world, representing sometimes less-than-allied countries, and using all they’ve learned to come to a resolution.”

Photo 1: Friends’ Central sophomore Emma Verges of Wynnewood asserts her position with fellow delegates in the historical Peace of Westphalia Committee at Penn’s Ivy League Model United Nations Conference. Verges, along with junior Jessica Shields and sophomore Sam Weiss, were given Verbal Commendations for their outstanding work at the Conference.

Photo 2: Friends’ Central seniors Justin Burdge of Philadelphia and Alex Kalman of Haverford in discussion at Penn’s Ivy League Model United Nations Conference. Burdge and Kalman earned the Best Delegate Award for their outstanding work at the Conference.

(Photos courtesy of Friends’ Central)