The Mayfield High School Model United Nations team hadn’t visited New York City in over twenty years. That all changed in early March when 20 delegates boarded the bus to attend the 41st annual National High School Model United Nations in Midtown, Manhattan.

Every March, the International Model United Nations Association hosts NHSMUN––a MUN conference that regularly invites over 3000 participants from 150 schools and over 20 countries to represent the delegations of over 193 countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Each student from Mayfield represented the Republic of Liberia––a small West African country which was established in part by the American Colonization Society of the USA in the early 1800s.

After two grand opening ceremonies to accommodate for the massive student size, delegates dispersed throughout the Hilton hotel into 33 committees, all of which emulated real United Nations committee and commissions. Thereafter followed three consecutive days of high-strung, professional debate which totaled an average of 17 hours of discussion by Friday evening.

Whether it was the establishment of a nuclear DMZ in the Middle East or the achievement of gender equality in the global marketplace––although the topic of debate ranged greatly, each committee discussed only the most pressing of today’s global issues.

When they weren’t busy taking on the roles of being young diplomats, participants were also given the chance to explore the city around them. By virtue of being located in the middle of New York City, delegates could walk only 10 minutes and find themselves in a whole new world of food, fashion, and everything in-between.

To add to the fun, delegates were also invited to attend the traditional delegate dance hosted on Friday evening in a grand ballroom of the Hilton. With grandiose chandeliers overlooking a classic NYC dance party––equipped with laser lights and all––students from all over the world came together to do what teenagers do best: have a great time.

The following Saturday morning marked the end of the conference. Although the opening ceremonies had taken place in the large ballroom of the Hilton, NHSMUN offered an impressive upgraded location for the closing ceremonies: the real General Assembly in the United Nations Headquarters.

After a long line of typical “airport” security to enter the UN, delegates were greeted in the GA hall by the huge, gilded dome embellished with the famous United Nations logo. As hundreds of people filtered into the very same seats of real UN ambassadors, it was easy to feel that the “model” in Model United Nations was a thing of the past.

Once the ceremony actually started, the process seemed to feel all too authentic. One by one, representatives from each committee were projected on the main screen as they spoke into their personal microphones a brief synopsis of their efforts in resolution. Among those chosen to present this brief were juniors Louis Liu and Isaac Bykhovsky, on behalf of the African Union.

To conclude the ceremony, a gentleman approached the iconic green marble podium at the center of the floor of the GA. It was the same podium that had housed great figures of history since the UN’s establishment post WWII––John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Che Guevara, Moammar Gadhafi. As the man spoke into the microphone, he warned that the message he was about to deliver was not written by him, and that he would reveal its author at its conclusion.

After several minutes of a touching expression of gratitude for the work that young diplomats of NHSMUN have done and will continue to do, the man closed the paper and said a simple phrase.

“The message was written by Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary General of the United Nations.”