TOMBALL, Texas – For the third consecutive year, LSC-Tomball students were part of a Lone Star College delegation named an Outstanding Delegation at the National Model United Nations (NMUN) conference in New York. LSC-Tomball’s delegation also included students from LSC-Kingwood and LSC-Montgomery.
“It would be impossible for me to overstate how proud I am of our students and their accomplishments and humbling it is for our delegation to have won the top award for the third consecutive year,” said Dr. Sean Tiffee, co-advisor for the LSC-Tomball Model UN delegation that traveled to the event, April 9-13. Tiffee, speech professor, and history professor David Birch are co-advisors for the LSC-Tomball Model UN.
More than 5,000 college and university delegates, half from outside the United States, travel to New York City each spring to discuss current global issues on 20 selected committees.
Participating LSC-Tomball students were Anna DeCuir, Carmen Castellanos, Alexis Kulik, Jacquelyn Trott, and Ashlee Nixon. DeCuir and Castellanos were the delegates to the UN General Assembly 3rd Committee; Kulik and her counterpart at LSC-Montgomery were delegates to the UN Development Programme.
Trott and Nixon were the delegates to the UN Environment Assembly and were among those named Best in Committee for their work. Position papers were also recognized for the UN Environment Assembly in addition to a position paper award in the UN Development Programme Committee representing the United Republic of Tanzania.
“The students' success is the product of months of preparation and hard work,” Tiffee stressed, before adding, “It is truly remarkable to witness them grow as both scholars and citizens, and unbelievably rewarding to see them compete and be more successful than four year colleges and graduate schools of international policy.”
A key to the delegation’s success could lie in their commitment to preparation before the event. Months leading up to the event, students devoted countless hours to learning how to write in the technical style of world diplomacy, becoming familiar with its language, as well as learning the nuances of diplomatic negotiation. Along the way, students dived head first into reams of diplomatic communiques, and UN Resolutions and Conventions. Over the years, LSC-Tomball has represented countries from all over the world.
At the annual conference, over the course of four days, students worked with other delegations in formal sessions, presenting and debating the position papers they had prepared in teams of two. They caucused with other country representatives to write resolutions which were then voted on to be put forward to the
General Assembly. On the final day of the event, the delegations convened in the actual United Nations assembly hall where the nominated resolutions are voted upon.
“Their victory speaks to the drive and dedication our students have and to the grit they display every day,” Tiffee said. “Our program at LSC-Tomball understands that the wins we bring back from New York represent not only the successes of the students who competed, but our entire campus and community. We are honored to represent our school and our city and are thankful to our president, Dr. Nutt, all of the faculty and staff of the college, and the city of Tomball for their support.”
The LSC-Tomball NMUN initiative is a joint project between the Speaking Excellence Center and the Center for International Studies.
Lone Star College-Tomball is located at 35000 Tomball Parkway, at the intersection of SH 249 and Zion Road. For more information about the college, call 281.351.3300 or visit LoneStar.edu/Tomball.