Stephen Dumeyer | Reporter

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The Model UN team will head to their biggest conference of the year this weekend in Chicago. It is also their second to last of the year.

“I’m looking forward to participating in committee debates and meeting new people,” Model UN President Dia Gill said. “My committee is going to be discussing corruption in Latin America, as well as science and technology in that region.”

With this being the biggest stage for the students this year, Gill hopes that everything will go smoothly.

“Most of the experience is getting to simulate the United Nations,” Gill said. “My hope is that everyone feels comfortable speaking, debating, and negotiating, and also just takes advantage of the experience.”

Gill has been to multiple overnight events like the upcoming one in Chicago. Aside from the debating, participants get the opportunity to meet people from around the world.

“My favorite memory from our last time is just all of the people I met,” Gill said. “There were kids from all over the world. China, Puerto Rico, Italy, and other various states in the US.”

Social Studies teacher Mrs. Garland will be joining the club for the trip and says that this is her first time attending an event like this.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how the whole thing works,” Garland said. “How each of the committees will work together and how they’ll make decisions.”

The Chicago meet will give the team the chance to showcase the abilities they have been working on during the year.

“I want [the students] to be able to have a chance to show what they’ve learned,” Garland said. “They’ve been working very hard. I also want the seniors to be able to do well because they’ve worked hard for this, not only this year but also all four years.”

In addition, another hope for the team is to establish a tradition of success for underclassmen and future members.

“I also want some of the younger students on the team to see what it’s like and gain the passion for it through the older kids,” Garland said.

Model UN also gets to showcase their diversity throughout the broad scope of committees that are available at the conference.

“I love that it can include anyone. I think a lot of people think it is solely political,” Garland said. “We have students that are going to be on committees for education, women’s rights, discussing disarmament of nations, we have students that are on historical committees like the German Unification of 1871…

A few of the committee topics that Avon students will participate in include education, women’s rights, and disarmament..

“It’s really one of those that is open to all fields and I love that it’s not limited to just one small group of politics,” Garland said.