The dream of attending the first out-of-state Model United Nations conference may be in the near future for Oasis High School students due to the organization and determination eight new officers possess.
The responsibility of making the trip to Washington a reality lies on the shoulders of Nadine Joseph, who is the director of finances, because she has to make sure they have the funds to travel out-of-state. The cost for the trip could be as much as $225 per person.
She said everyone on the team has their own account to make sure funds go into the correct account for the conferences. Money is deposited when members of the Model United Nations team participate in a fund raiser.
Joseph said the money deposited into the accounts all depends on who participates. If five members participate in a car wash, the proceeds from the event are divided among those members to be distributed into their accounts.
The goal of the upcoming year, she said, is to focus on organizing fundraisers so they can accomplish their goal of going to Washington for their first out-of-state conference. Joseph said she wants to include everyone in the fund-raising efforts.
Director of Conferences Ellana Terrill is responsible for choosing which conferences they will attend next year, along with where they will stay and what stops will be made along the way. She said she works closely with Joseph because if the funds are not there, she cannot plan the conference.
Terrill said she hopes to plan five or six conferences for the team to attend next year.
“I will be planning before this year ends, so we can start planning for these,” she said.
Claudia Hernandez, who was elected as the security general for the Model United Nations team, will also help her teammates get to Washington by enforcing open communication from the team, all 17 of them. She said that communication is the most important role of a team because it keeps everyone informed.
Hernandez said with an open communication policy, it also will help keep conflicts to a minimum, along with helping her team focus on preparation and organizational skills so they are ready for conferences.
She said they are planning ahead for everything, so they can set the foundation that the Model United Nations team needs.
Johana Gonzalez, the deputy secretary general for the team, mainly assists Hernandez with her efforts, along with working with the other officers to make sure things run smoothly.
Director of Training Emily Schwarck and Deputy Director of Training Ciara Bennese also are a huge part in the success for the team team because they provide the resources the team needs to be prepared for the conferences they attend.
Schwarck said she worked with Bennese to put together a curriculum that they are going to stick to, so it will be easy for incoming students to pick up on what the team is all about.
“Without new delegates learning we wouldn’t be where we are now,” she said.
Schwarck said she wants to offer classes for the more advanced delegates to sharpen their skills, along with having mock debates to sharpen all of the team members skills.
“Our goal is quality,” Terrill said about the team. “It’s to have the best members we can have.”
Bennese said she wants to help improve her teammates’ skills, so they can hit the ground running when debating at a conference, which is why she is creating a handbook with Schwarck.
“Hopefully, it will remind everyone that it is there and you can use it,” Bennese said about the handbook.
Organizing Secretary Zack Peralto also has an important role as an officer for the team because he is the record keeper. He said he wants to improve the teams’ records because it will help everyone else when getting ready for conferences.
Schwarck said if the team does not have a history, it will be hard to look back into previous years.
On May 27, the Model United Nations team is planning a formal celebration banquet to wrap up the successful school year they have had.
“It’s a celebration that this year went so awesome,” Bennese said. “It is the icing on top of the cake.”
Hernandez said the banquet is also being held to for all the seniors because they began the team.
Tyler Hollis, director of media services is also an officer for the Oasis High School Model United Nations team.