FIU Model United Nations ranked No. 5 in North America

The FIU Model United Nations (FIU MUN) team has been ranked the fifth best Model UN team in North America, as well as the top ranked team in Florida (for the second straight year), by BestDelegate.com.

The editors of the website said, “perhaps more important than just winning awards, FIU has won the respect of its peers by displaying many of the same qualities during its rise that are characteristic of other top teams: hard work, humility and integrity.”

FIU MUN 2011-2012 leadership: Ana Portal, Ray Hernandez and Aaron Heria

“The credit goes to our delegates,” says Ray Hernandez, program director of FIU Model UN. “They made this possible by sacrificing both time and individual finances to attend a record eight conferences. Our senior delegates did their part and helped us achieve a No. 7 ranking in the fall, but it was our newbies that carried us to the Top 5 by winning Best Delegation awards at North Carolina and at West Point.”

Hernandez says their ranking could have been higher. “We had a few unfortunate missteps and lapses at the Harvard conference and missed the perfect opportunity to take an even bigger leap forward.”

After the conference, new members on the team were anxious to prove their mettle and decided to take on an unprecedented challenge. The team went on to compete in the most intense conference schedule in team history by participating in three conferences in just 11 days.

The ‘Masters of the Sword’ (from left to right): Nicholas Aquart, Ray Hernandez, Edgardo Borelly, 2nd Lt. Brett Schuck, James D’Cruz, Javier Navas and Ariela Nijamkin.

He adds, “For their collective accomplishments, I will always refer to this newbie class as being redeemers of the sword.”

Ana Portal, FIU MUN head delegate, says, “Our goal as a team is to make sure that our delegates understand the importance behind representing FIU and, most importantly, that they respect the competitors we face. We work incredibly hard and care about the countries we represent and the issues we discuss.”

The team had a stellar year last season. At the 2011 National Model United Nations conference, FIU MUN was named Outstanding Delegation and every member of the team received the Best Delegate Award. Yet the team was ranked 11th by BestDelegate.com.

“We felt that we underachieved as a team,” says Portal of the 2011 season. “Over the summer, we set out on a mission to earn national respect. We sat down for several hours, mostly at the Chili’s Too on campus, and outlined a thorough strategy to break into the Top 5. Our accomplishment should serve as a notice that FIU will be here for years to come and that our achievement was no fluke.”

2012 FIU Model UN team

The following delegates were instrumental in helping FIU MUN breakthrough to a national Top 5 ranking:

Nassir Aboreden
Cristine Ale
Eric Alvarez
Yesenia Alfonso
Nicholas Aquart
Federico Baez
Edgardo Borelly
Ryan Brooks
Claudia Carbonero
Watlyn Clervoix
Allison Fay Crummy
James D’Cruz
Michael Fernandez
Mario Di Giovanni
Daniela Gonzalez
Kevin Gonzalez
Aaron Heria
Nicolas Jimenez
Jessica Marin
Gabriela Morera
Javier Navas
Ariela Nijamkin
Manuel Nino
Brandon Paquette
Ana Portal
Brittany Rhodenbaugh
Iohana Sanchez
Hayden Simms

The Best Delegate Top 25 is as follows:

1. Georgetown University
2. University of Pennsylvania
3. University of Chicago
4. Yale University
5. Florida International University
6. Harvard University
7. Claremont McKenna College
8. West Point
9. George Washington University
10. College of William & Mary
11. Emory University
12. Columbia University
13. UC Berkeley
14. Boston University
15. Rutgers University
16. Cornell University
17. University of Florida
18. New York University
19. Tulane University
20. Michigan State University
21. UCLA
22. Stanford University
23. McGill University
24. UNC, Charlotte
25. University of Miami