Despite leaving the conference a day early due to the intense snowstorm, 67% of the 18 members of the MFS model UN team earned an award at the Ivy League Model United Nations Conference (ILMUNC).
From Thursday, January 22, to Saturday, January 24, 2026, MFS delegates represented countries to create resolutions with thousands of delegates from all over the world. While the conference in Philadelphia is one of the most competitive conferences MFS attends, this is the best the team has done in school history, according to Co-Secretary-General Ali Sabir ’26.
A major snowstorm on Saturday forced 75% of the schools to leave a day early.
The decision affected the vast majority of attendees.
The weather concerns began before the delegates even arrived in Philadelphia.
“The snowstorm was hanging over everyone’s heads, figuratively and literally,” said Sabir.
He added, “We were told from the very beginning that there was a real possibility we would be heading home a day early.”
The final decision came Friday night, leaving many delegates, particularly seniors, disappointed.
“I was pretty disappointed at first because it’s nice to get that one extra night with your friends, especially for me as a senior. It was our last ILMUNC conference,” said Sabir.
The shortened schedule also created challenges during committee sessions. Delegates faced rushed debates and condensed timelines for resolution work.
Co-Club President Arjun Khandhar ’27 said, “Once it became clear that the conference was ending early, the atmosphere was very much care-free as delegates didn’t see a point in trying, as awards had already been decided.”
Leaving early meant that MFS had to miss one full committee session, according to Under-Secretary-General Emmie Huynh ’27.
The early departure time meant missing more than just the committee time.
“We weren’t able to be there for the actual awards ceremony, so we all had to sit at home and watch a livestream,” Huynh explained, “It was a really different experience and pretty disappointing.”
Due to the online format of the awards ceremony, there were technical issues such as lag, poor audio quality, and a delayed Closing Ceremony video, taking delegates away from the full experience.
Sabir said, “There was a discrepancy between the audio and the sound, a small delay, nothing crazy. And then additionally, there was one point at which the slides stopped working. So they just showed us a video of ILMUNC.”
Yet despite these obstacles, 12 out of 18 MFS delegates worked to win various awards at ILMUNC. MFS had a 67% win percentage for delegates, winning four outstanding delegate awards, one honorable delegate award, and one verbal commendation.
The team’s success nearly earned them a delegation award, recognition given to schools based on the individual awards they accumulated. MFS thought they had won Best Small Delegation, but discovered they fell just outside the eligibility requirements.
“When they announced the awards, in addition to individual awards, they announced delegation awards for your school based on how many individual awards you accumulate,” Co- Club President Ethan Cohen ’26 explained. “There [are] two categories: large delegation and small delegation.”
Cohen continued, “We thought we were going to win Best Small Delegation because [of our performance], but we had 18 delegates, and small delegations are capped at 15. That wasn’t really conveyed to us, so we weren’t sure if we were a small or large delegation.”
Instead, MFS competed in the large delegation category against schools with significantly more participants.
“We were expecting to win something, but we were actually in the large category and couldn’t compete with delegations who brought like 40 kids,” said Cohen.
Senior single delegate Matthew Connor ’26 stood out, as it was his first Model United Nations conference, and he excelled.
“Matthew has expressed interest for a while. He showed up for some of the classes. We knew he had the technical skills to speak on the topic.” Sabir said, “He turned it into an outstanding delegate, which is a second-place win, which is virtually unheard of for your first conference.”
Though there were many difficulties throughout the conference, perseverance within partnerships was a key skill seen in the delegate pairings.
“What helped us win was how balanced our partnership was; we were able to bounce off each other really well, and that’s what made us stand out,” said Huynh while speaking about her partnership with Co-Club President Ethan Cohen ’26. Huynh and Cohen won Outstanding Delegates in the NATO Committee.
She added, “MFS does a great job pairing people who complement each other, and that’s why our delegation consistently does well.”
ILMUNC conference organizers worked to preserve key experiences.
“I thought that was really professional of them. I thought they made a really smart decision moving the [delegate] dance to Friday night instead of Saturday because so many people were leaving,” said Mia DeNittis ’28.
Huynh recalled her experience at the delegate dance, or Del Dance. “Over 100 kids were on the dance floor — it felt like a huge party.”
For many delegates, the experience became a lesson in resilience.
“Being in model UN, you definitely need to be ready for changes and challenges that are often unexpected,” Nolan Youssef ’28 reflected. “I think this experience with the snowstorm really highlights that aspect of needing to be able to make quick changes as a model UN delegate.”
Khandhar drew parallels to the committee work itself, saying, “This experience shows that at MUN conferences, you always have to be on your feet. Similar to how you can be ‘snaked’ in committee and things might not go your way, other factors outside your committee might also change how you have to think and work.”
Despite missing the traditional awards ceremony celebration, delegates found meaningful moments elsewhere.
Sabir reflected on how MFS adapted its senior-only dinner tradition.
“Usually, seniors go to a senior-only dinner for the last conference. This year, we opened it up to more people across grades, and I think that was more fulfilling. One of the biggest strengths of the Model UN program is how it builds connection[s] across grades,” he said.
DeNittis reflected on sentimental moments during the bus ride home, saying, “The bus ride back was honestly so sweet because [Co-Secretary-General] Zaydan [Lalani ’26] and Ali — it was their last ILMUNC — and they just gave them the sweetest, most amazing speeches ever. I was literally gonna cry.”
In the end, delegates expressed bittersweet satisfaction with their performance despite the circumstances.
“I’m still pretty satisfied with how the conference went,” Huynh concluded. “It’s just unfortunate that no one could control the weather.”
Photos courtesy of the MFS Model UN team.
