Community School of Davidson (CSD) Model United Nations (Model UN) students won three separate awards during their third and final day at the Model UN Chapel Hill Conference (MUNCH) closing ceremony on March 2, 2025. This marks the first time that CSD has ever won an award at this conference.
The conference consisted of more than 800 participants from varying North Carolina schools, 35 of whom represented CSD.
“I am so proud of all of these Model UN students. They worked so hard prior to the weekend, learning about their assigned countries or roles, learning debate skills, practicing parliamentary procedure, researching their committee topics and writing position papers on issues,” Autumn Michael, CSD’s Model UN teacher, said. “It is so exciting to finally see all of this hard work pay off.”
(Kate Saussele)
At most Model UN conferences, and especially a larger conference like MUNCH, students are placed in one of four primary committee types: General Assembly (GA), General Assembly Plus (GAP), Crisis Committees or Ad-Hoc Committees. CSD placed students in all four this year.
The first award that CSD won at MUNCH XXV was delegates Anya Jhingran (‘26) and Taylor Steven’s (‘26) “Best Delegate” as the country of Australia in the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) GA committee.
“Me and my partner had worked for months preparing for MUNCH, so when I heard our names be called I wasn’t surprised at all,” Taylor Stevens said. “We put a lot of time and effort into this competition and went out of our comfort zones during the process. This was such a fun experience and we hope to do it again next year.”
Anna Liz Turner (‘25) won CSD’s second award in “Verbal Commendation” for her work as Mary, the Queen of Scotland in the Crisis Committee Battle for the English Throne. Turner is also the president of CSD’s Model UN class.
“It’s an interesting social experiment to watch power dynamics form and flip in real time,” Anna Liz Turner said. “Most of the work that goes into awarding is paying attention to these dynamics and staying ahead of the tide. Chairs are looking out for that kind of leader.”
The third and final award CSD received was Lizzie Kees (‘26) and MK Michael’s (‘25) “Outstanding Delegate” award for their efforts as the country of Russia in the GA Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC).
“This time around [at MUNCH], my partner and I made a lot of connections within such a short period of time, making it very enjoyable and exciting to spend time in long committee sessions,” Lizzie Kees said. “I definitely couldn’t have gotten the award or become the delegate I was without the leadership in club/class.”
The conference was a pleasant and fun wrap-up for CSD’s Model UN seniors. For 15 of CSD’s delegates, MUNCH XXV concluded their high school Model UN careers.
“I’m so proud of everyone, whether they were awarded or not,” Turner said. “The whole group worked phenomenally hard and I think they all learned more about public speaking and collaborative problem solving.”
This trip sets a new precedent for future CSD MUNCH delegates. For both seniors and underclassmen, it will forever be remembered as not only CSD’s first, but triple-win sweep, for the high school at MUNCH XXV.
