May 8, 2006 :: No. 240

Cal State Fullerton's Model United Nations team won the Distinguished Delegation Award at the spring National Model United Nations Conference.

"We had the largest delegation ever this year with 24 students and one professor," said Choudhury Shamim, associate professor of political science and a former UN delegate for Bangladesh.

Shamim, adviser to the university's Model United Nations Club, said that "most of our students were competing for the first time, yet they came together as a team very well. We represented the country of Brazil."

The 3,500 delegates at the conference held last month in New York came from colleges and universities from throughout the world, including Afghanistan and Iraq, Shamim said. In fact, half the participants came from outside the United States.

"Since 2003, Cal State Fullerton has won an award in every Model UN Conference in which we have participated," he said. "We have become a winning program. … I am really proud of my students' achievements."

"Participating in the National Model United Nations competition has been one of the best and most memorable experiences of my life," said graduate student Christal L. Garcia. "On one day, I met with students from Canada, Germany, Ireland, New York and Boston — all of us working together as representatives of our assigned countries — to write a strong resolution that would benefit people around the world. It was a meeting that encapsulated the spirit of the United Nations."

The students on CSUF's Model UN team, who share the National Model United Nations Distinguished Delegation Award, are:
Fullerton residents Mike Schreiber, political science major and president of the Model United Nations Club; Ian Hudson, political science major and vice president; Jeffrey Gonzalez, political science; Alaa Ibrahim, political science; Shane Kelley, political science; Jason Montgomery, political science; Rebecca Rees, American studies and English; Walter Ruigu, political science; Kyle Rush, political science;
Fontana resident Nishad Marathe, political science, head delegate;
Garden Grove resident Cam Mangels, political science;
Hacienda Heights resident Denise Nogales, political science;
La Puente resident Cynthia Rodriguez, political science;
Long Beach resident Lucas Carreras, political science;
Los Angeles resident Mike Warner, political science;
Newport Beach resident Arya Hawkins, political science;
Orange resident Ritika M. Deshmukh, political science;
Ontario resident Mohammad Muhareb, political science;
Placentia resident Kyle Norman, political science;
Rancho Santa Margarita resident Lina Al-Agha, political science;
Tustin residents Edward Dellarocca and Mona Mohammadi, both political science
Whittier resident Christal L. Garcia, political science; and Yorba Linda resident Lana Sawalha, political science.

Earlier in the semester, three of the students — Gonzalez, Marathe and Warner — received honorable mentions at the National Model United Nations Conference held in March at Harvard.

« back to News Front