SMCHS Students Take China by Storm

Nine students from Santa Margarita Catholic High School recently returned from China, where they participated in the 18th annual Beijing International Model United Nations Conference (BEIMUN), coming away with more awards than any other school at the conference.  

Santa Margarita was the only U.S. school represented at the conference.

Jessica Drivas and Lindsey Mann, both of Coto de Caza, and Krista Ury of Mission Viejo were selected best delegates on their committees, the highest honor in the Model U.N. program. Committees range from 60 to 100 students. SMCHS was the only school to win multiple best-delegate awards. The MUN class at Santa Margarita is part of the school's honors social studies program.

“China was not only an eye-opening trip that strengthened my abilities as an MUN student, but it also helped me understand the importance of interacting with people from all over the world who hold a variety of viewpoints,” Ury said.

The program simulates sessions of the U.N., with students serving as delegates of participating countries. Students replicate the working of the U.N. by attending conferences worldwide such as the BEIMUN Conference. The Santa Margarita delegates have traveled this year to Paris, London and Duke University; in the past it has traveled to Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands.  The program helps build skills including negotiation, teamwork and public speaking.

“Our MUN students have learned more about the world we live in and because of this will become responsible world citizens as adults,” said John Remmell, the school’s Model U.N. advisor.

At the invitation-only conference, students represented Chile and debated issues including arms control, sustainable development and human rights issues.

The nine-day trip last month began with two days in Shanghai, where students took a day trip to the Suzhou Gardens and visited the historic Bund, one of Shanghai’s largest tourist attractions, featuring dozens of historical buildings lining the Huangpu river.

The students then traveled to Beijing, where they toured the city before the conference.

In Beijing, students visited historical and culture sites, including the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the Great Wall, Summer Palace, Olympic Village, the Temple of Heaven and the Lama Temple.

“I learned more about myself and my world in my one trip to China than I have learned in my entire high school career,” Drivas said. “Winning an award at the conference was not just the fulfillment of a long-held goal, but the experience of promoting my opinions before some of the most intelligent members of the international community I have ever met was an experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life.”