The Debate to the End: Model UN Takes on FIU

Mackenzi Charles, Staff Writer

   As the year comes to an end, so does the Model UN team’s competition season. Pines Charter’s team of delegates began their competition on a good note with several winners from their team placing on November 6, 2022 at the KnightMUN competition—hosted at UCF. Their competition came to an end on March 12, 2023 at the FIMUN which was their final competition of the school year. Model UN has proven themselves over and over again that they possess the qualities of award-winning speakers, while also creating a name for themselves in the Florida debate world.

   A few of the winners offered feedback on their most recent competition and how it fueled their success:

   “The competition was definitely a good way to end the competition season and I’m really proud of everyone who attended—[it was some people’s] first ever college competition they attended. I’m proud of myself because I’ve been able to place in almost every competition that I attended this year. I’m really glad to have ended this year with an award because FIMUN was actually the first competition I ever got an award at. What I learned from this competition is that you must always place yourself forward and make sure that you take the reins in the competition. To make sure that you would be able to dominate the competition” – Junior Daniella Milian (Parliamentarian)

   “The competition exceeded my expectations and hopes. I had heard from many delegates that FIMUN was extremely competitive, making me nervous to compete. However, I wanted to take on the challenge and went for it. My goal was to place, so my partner and I gave it our all and were able to receive the award for Best Delegate (1st place). Being awarded Best Delegate, I was proud of my partner and I, along with being grateful that I had the opportunity to apply my skills from past competitions to FIMUN.As this is my first year in Model UN, I was learning the ropes in the past competitions I attended. In this conference, I learned how to effectively lead a group with my partner. Furthermore, I learned the most effective methods to increase chances of success for my group as our resolution paper passed with a near 100% of votes.”  – Sophomore Aarohi Bali 

   “The competition not only fulfilled my expectations, but exceeded them. I certainly knew that I wanted to try and place for this competition, but never knew the other experiences that I would gain from it. After utilizing the knowledge obtained from previous conferences, I met my personal goal: improvement.Winning the Best Delegate award was truly one of the most rewarding moments I’ve ever faced. When one puts their heart into something, it’s an amazing feeling to get recognized. As a representative of Estonia, I felt as if other countries would overpower what my partner and I had to say; instead, we were respected and learned to respect as well. We learned the true definition of leadership and compromise, all working towards one cause.” – Sophomore Karina Garcia