At the end of November, our Model UN clubs and Model UN courses came together to participate in the 2023 Southern Regional Model United Nations (SRMUN) conference in Atlanta, GA. While there was no theme for this year’s SRMUN Atlanta conference, students discussed topics ranging from the global debt crisis to protection of world heritage sites to the housing crisis and combating disinformation. 

This year’s conference included over 471 delegates (77 delegations) from 32 universities. Twenty-eight PSIA students from across the Dahlonega and Gainesville campuses represented five countries: France, Vietnam, Croatia, India, and Singapore. 

Since UNG was representing France, our UNG students had the unique opportunity to talk with the Consul General Anne-Laure Desjonquères from the Consulate General of France in Atlanta. The Consul General graciously took time out of her busy schedule to talk with our students in the French delegation about her career, French foreign policy, and negotiation skills.  

Our Delegates:  

France: 

  • Carlee Blankenship (PS/Pre-Law ’23) 
  • Orla Fennell (IA ’23) 
  • Dominick Ledesma (PS/Pre-Law ’25) 
  • Austin Gazaway (IA ’24) 
  • Tim Chamblee (IA ’24) 
  • Sarah Gonzalez (IA ’25)  
  • Austin Gazaway (IA ’24) 
  • Gianna Torretta (PS/Pre-Law ’24) (not pictured)

Vietnam 

  • Michell Borosak (IA ’24) 
  • Zachary Furbush (IA ’25) 
  • Reece Tharpe (PS/Pre-Law ’24) 
  • Zane Bennett (IA ’24)  
  • Maximillian Howard (not pictured) 

Croatia 

  • Igor Gonçalves (ComSci ‘26) 
  • Santiago Lasserre-Couture (SSST ’25) 
  • Fabio da Silva (Business ‘26) (not pictured) 
  • Maahrough Camara (Cyber ’24) (not pictured) 

 

India:  

  • Fatima Santillan (PS ‘25) 
  • Rosa Morales (PS/Pre-Law ‘26)
  • Tracy Amaya (PSAA ‘25) 
  • Rubi Islas (PS ‘24) 
  • Nas Ali (PS ‘24)
  • Welldy Puac (PSAA ‘24) 
  • Logan Duke (Interdisciplinary Studies ‘26) 
  • Nathanael Hines (PS/Pre-Law ’24) 
  • Benjamin Tomana (PS/Pre-Law ‘25) 

 Singapore: 

  • Claudia Marban (PS ‘26) 
  • Dylan Gearin (HIST ’24) 
  • Geeson Senat (PS/Pre-Law ‘25) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also had one of our students on SRMUN staff this year. Jessica Case (IA ’25) (pictured above) was the Assistant Director (AD) of the General Assembly Plenary Committee.  

Along with experiencing the rewards of the conference as a whole, the UNG team came home with a few awards:  

  1. Outstanding Position Paper: Singapore Delegation 
  1. Outstanding Position Paper: French Delegation  
  1. Outstanding Position Paper for the Group of 20 (G20): Orla Fennell (France) 
  1. Best Delegates for the General Assembly Plenary: Carlee Blankenship & Maddie Lindell (France), Zachary Furbush & Reece Tharpe (Viet Nam) 

Congratulations to our students on their excellent work at the 2023 SRMUN Atlanta Conference! 

If you are interested in participating in the clubs or just learning more about how Model UN works, the Dahlonega (@ungmodelun) and Gainesville (@ungmodelun.gvl) clubs hold weekly meetings during the semester. There is even a Model UN course (POLS 3505) taught by Dr. Miner (DAH) and Dr. Chand (GVL), offered every fall semester! 

[Author: Orla Fennell, IA’23]