Texas Senate Resolution Honors Model UN Students

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by Liesbeth Powers, student newswriter

WACO, Texas (June, 6 2018) – The Texas State Senate recently recognized Baylor University’s Model United Nations (MUN) Team with a Senate Proclamation honoring the team’s outstanding performance at the 2018 National Model United Nations conference.

This document was commissioned by Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-District 22, and delivered in May at the annual MUN graduation barbecue by Eric Vining, B.A. (Journalism, Political Science) ‘16, legislative director in the Texas House of Representatives, who served on the MUN team as a Baylor student.

“It was a real treat to offer a small token of recognition to these outstanding young men and women of the Baylor Model UN team,” Birdwell said in a statement. “I applaud their impressive work and thank them for being such outstanding representatives of Baylor, Senate District 22 and our state.”

Baylor MUN broke a team record for the most awards received in the 10 years the university has attended the national conference. The team was named an “Outstanding Delegation” and students were recognized for “Outstanding Delegation in Committee” in five of the eight committees in which they participated in. Two delegates also received “Outstanding Position Paper Awards” for policy memos that were submitted prior to the conference.

“I know my students are among the best and brightest in the state, and I’m delighted that the State of Texas has recognized that, too,” Rebecca Flavin, Ph.D., senior lecturer in political science in the College of Arts & Sciences and advisor for the MUN team, said.

Sixteen selected members of the team traveled to the New York conference. Among them was Bailey Craig, a senior international studies major and MUN head delegate.

“Although only 16 of us traveled to New York, there was a larger group of class and club members who worked together to research the 24 topics covered by the conference,” Craig said. “After the team was selected, the student leaders, Sahir Amlani and I, worked together with Dr. Flavin to train our team. It was truly a team effort.”

The proclamation is an honor and shows that their work pays off, Craig said, and she hopes that it will lead to more success.

“We hope that this recognition will open new doors for the team in the future,” Craig said. “Previous successes allowed us to travel abroad for a single conference and the hope is that this will ultimately become a regular thing for future teams.”

While Flavin is proud of her team, she emphasized that awards are a bonus. The most important part of these experiences are professional skills and friendships, Flavin said. Because of this, she avoids using words like competition to describe the conferences the team attends.

“The most important benefits that the students gain from these conferences are the intangible ones that aren’t easily captured on resumes,” Flavin said. “They develop professionally in their research, writing, negotiation and public speaking skills, and the develop personally, cultivating life-long friendships both with their Baylor teammates and the students they meet at conference, who come from all over the world.”

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.