From Feb. 13 to Feb. 16, McLean’s national Model UN team competed in the North American International Model United Nations Conference (NAIMUN) at Georgetown University. McLean won the Honorable Large Delegation award, beating teams from Peru, Ethiopia, Italy, Puerto Rico and Mexico.

“NAIMUN is by far the most competitive conference we go to, but a lot of people did well,” junior Jad Osta said. “We got a lot of awards and a bunch of seniors went out with a bang and got some awards at possibly their last national conference.”

Two members, sophomore Artin Safaie and senior Minsong Ha, received a gavel, an award given to the best delegate in every committee.

“To gavel at a conference, it takes a lot of preparation beforehand, but more importantly it takes a lot of self-confidence,” Safaie said. “I think I stayed consistent at NAIMUN and focused on what I was good at. Preparation is important but it is more important to believe in yourself in the moment and be confident in your abilities.”

McLean Model UN’s next conference will be the Virginia Invitational Model United Nations Conference at Langley High School

“Our next conference is at Langley, and that’s a super competitive one,” Osta said. “Our goal will be to beat TJ.“