Seven students enrolled in the Master in International Relations and Diplomacy program, offered through a partnership between Arcadia University and the American Graduate School in Paris, participated in the Catalonian Model United Nations (C’MUN) in Barcelona, May 2-5.

Ryan Godfrey (Class of 2012), a student in the dual program in International Relations and Diplomacy and International Peace and Conflict Resolution, was the coordinator and advisor of the Arcadia-AGS team, along with Andrea Badiola (Class of 2013). Arcadia-AGS won more awards than any other team in the United Nations simulation, earning a prize in each committee in which they had delegates.

Carolyn Meyer (Class of 2012) and Amy Pope (Class of 2013) were both nominated Outstanding First-year Participant as they respectively represented Kenya in the Environmental Committee and Spain in the General Assembly. Etienne Rosas (Class of 2012) was awarded the Oustanding Delegation prize, as he represented Portugal in the Security Council. Godfrey and Badiola both received honorable mentions for representing the Chinese delegation in the Security Council and the Guatemalan delegation in the Human Rights Council. Jhinni Awotar (Australia in the Environmental Committee) and Lisa Albright (Democratic Republic of Congo in the Environmental Committee) also received high praise for their participation.

“At the beginning of the negotiation the nerves were tangible, but after jumping into the arena everybody started adapting to their new role and enjoying the game,” says Badiola. “The first day every committee started with the sometimes complex procedures, but we AGSers knew our way through. After debating the subjects that were on the agenda of each committee, we worked on drafting the resolutions to be voted.

“We went to this MUN with our hand-luggage and came back full of energy, experience and hope—hope for the future, knowing that we are getting ready to be the decision-makers of tomorrow. No matter where each one of us ends up whether in a diplomatic career or in other fields, we have learned ways to deal with very complex current issues and negotiate with diverse people, and we have proven to ourselves what we are able to accomplish. New ideas, new solutions, new friends and a lot of sun—so much have we learned and so much have we shared!”