Members of Grier’s Model UN club traveled to Gettysburg College in southern Pennsylvania over the weekend of October 10th. Students navigated the potential fall of the Roman Republic, provided support to displaced people, and even completed challenges aligned with the popular reality TV series, “Survivor.” The Gettysburg Model United Nations Conference 2025 (GettMun 2025) was a beneficial experience for all who participated.
The conference lasted over three days. On Friday, students left Grier directly after classes, arriving in Gettysburg just in time for a short opening ceremony. They then went to their first session of committees, which lasted until 10 PM. After an exciting first day, Saturday brought trouble and adaptation to the crisis committees as reactors exploded in Chernobyl, the Roman Republic began to crumble, and students were trapped on an island in “Survivor.”
The Chernobyl committee was a crisis committee, meaning that delegates were aiming to fix issues presented to them in crisis updates (spoiler: the events in the updates are secretly caused by the people in the committee). Three first-time Model UN-ers–Addy Yoder, ‘26, Gia McIntyre, ‘26, and Mars Hayot, ‘27–took part in this committee, and explained that their committee began after the first reactor of Chernobyl exploded, which left them the challenge of preventing the explosion of the other reactors, while navigating the dangerous, radioactive impacts of the first explosion. Yoder spoke about the plans her team created. “One guy built a tower, and we secretly built a tower right next to his tower, but it was 3 feet taller,” she explained. “The boy originally built the tower to stop the radiation, but ours had no point.” Ploys such as this can happen in Model UN, a club filled with surprises and endless possibilities. The three delegates went on to frame this boy for the murder of a horse named Esteban and found success in overthrowing the KGB.
On the other hand, Model UN can be more serious. A General Assembly (GA) takes a more serious approach, and highlights the importance of international diplomacy in a fashion more similar to how the UN operates today. Students participated in two different GAs at GettMUN. Sophia Richards-Cordell, ‘27, told us a bit about her committee. “ I did a General Assembly, which was more about working together in one room to come up with solutions for sustainable housing in different countries,” Richards-Cordell explained. “I was in the refugee committee.” Experiences such as these help students develop writing skills, confidence in public speaking, and understand real-life issues in the world, while simultaneously learning how the UN actually functions.
Grier students with a wide range of experience in Model UN participated in this conference. “Any time you go to a conference, you gain more experience,” Mr. Packnick, the Grier MUN club advisor said. “[For] those that it was their first conference, the smaller nature of the conference gave an easier area to begin. Those with more experience were able to fine tune their debates, and practice real time negotiation skills.”
No matter the level of experience you have in Model UN, the club is fun for all. “I enjoy seeing our delegates delivering speeches, motions, writing resolutions and passing directives,” said Ms. Brandebura, co-club advisor. “I like to see them in action, and it was encouraging to see the first-time model UN-ers getting involved in their committees.”
Grier brought home three awards from the GettMUN. Lucy Buchanan, ‘26, won Best Delegate; Noa Stein, ‘26, won Distinguished Delegate; and Natalie Kelsey, ‘26, won an Honorable Mention! Everyone who attended this conference should be proud of their hard work and achievements.
