For the 13th consecutive year, John Jay ranked among the top 5 percent of colleges and universities from over 30 countries that participated in the annual National Model United Nations (NMUN) competition. The John Jay team received a Distinguished Delegation award during the week-long competition that brought together approximately 5,500 students from April 9-14 at the Sheraton and Hilton hotels in New York City.
Each year, NMUN delegations represent a different member state of the United Nations, with John Jay this year representing the Oriental Republic of Uruguay.
Delegates served on a number of committees in which they deliberated, negotiated, drafted and adopted resolutions and reports on a wide range of politically sensitive and topical issues. This year’s agenda included topics ranging from the role of science and technology in international security and disarmament, the eradication of poverty through a green economy to the prevention of violence and discrimination based on sexual and gender identity, among many others.
In addition to receiving the Distinguished Delegation award, which recognizes the overall delegation’s superior performance in all committees, the team garnered additional awards. Team members Izabela Qafa and Amanda Jamal were recognized for their work on the Commission on the Status of Women; Veeana Singh, Dillon Epperson, and Sean Skeeters for the International Atomic Energy Agency; and Eugenio Rotondi and Neesa Rajkumar for the General Assembly First Committee. Gabriell Caceres, Kyle Roberts, and Jerry Cho who participated in the Security Council were also recognized for their Outstanding Position Papers. In addition, Gabriell Cacares and Kyle Roberts of the Security Council, and Kadeem Roberts and Nairy Soto of the General Assembly Third Committee, received Outstanding Delegates in Committee Awards.
The 28-member team’s success is the product of rigorous and systematic training under the guidance and mentorship of Professor Jacques Fomerand of the Department of Political Science. During the fall and spring semesters, the team met for two to three hours every Friday evening, in addition to countless hours of preparation throughout the week. They honed their research skills, drafted position papers, rehearsed public speaking skills, refined their mediating and consensus-building techniques and mastered the intricacies of U.N. procedures.
John Jay’s 2016-2017 NMUN team included students from a wide variety of academic disciplines, the executives of numerous student organizations, Presidential Interns, Watson Fellows, McNair Scholars, members of the Honors Program and Student-Athletes. These students, with roots in over a dozen countries, were: Jamil Ahmed, Hanna Amodine (Treasurer, UNSA), Andrea Arturo, Gabriell Caceres, Jerry Cho, Alondra Cuevas, Chhimi Dorji, Amanda Jamal, Eduardo Lopez Echeverria, Dillon Epperson, Jonila Fetiu, Niven Hemraj, Amena Othman, Nikaury Payano, Izabela Qafa, Fariza Rakhmanova, Neesa Rajkumar, Muhammad Rehman (President, UNSA) Kyle Roberts, Kadeem Robinson, Eugenio Rotondi, Sidiki Savadogo, Asia Shkreli (Vice President, UNSA) Sean Skeeters, Nairy Soto, Monica Zambrano, and Veeana Singh.
