Hums of discussion float throughout the Fourth Annual Model UN Conference at Rice University as delegates debate about their countries’ stance, balancing their ideas with national policies and negotiating compromises.
The atmosphere becomes tense; however, sophomore Camila Lusinchi knows she came prepared, resulting in her earning the Outstanding Delegate Award for her exceptional representation of Peru in the UNODC on March 1, 2025.
“When I found out I got Outstanding Delegate, although I knew that I was doing my best, I was really surprised and I was really happy,” Lusinchi said. “I really thank Mrs. Suelzer and my sponsor, Mrs. Crane because I think that without them, I couldn’t have won this award.”
Lusinchi’s desire to become a role model led her to join the club and thus participate in this Model UN conference.
“I got inspired to join the Model UN club because it’s about diplomacy and it prepares you to be a young leader,” Lusinchi said. “It also gives you real world skills like public speaking and how to write, so it’s a really helpful club.”
The extreme amounts of research Lusinchi completed allowed her to go above and beyond at the conference, ultimately helping her win the Outstanding Delegate Award.
“My role as a delegate was to represent the country Peru,” Lusinchi said. “So, I did some research on the country I was representing and I also had to do background research on other countries in my committee and what history that they have with Peru to see what information would help me.”
Even though Lusinchi faced many challenges, she handled them with grace and ease, believing in herself that she could overcome anything.
“The most challenging part of my performance was speaking publicly,” Lusinchi said. “Looking at that many people and having to talk to them in Spanish as my mother language was definitely challenging, but I knew that I could push through it.”
Every member of Lusinchi’s team aided and emboldened her, demonstrating the club’s cooperation skills.
“During the conference, my team really supported me by encouraging me and telling me that I was capable of speaking publicly,” Lusinchi said. “Everybody gave their opening speech before we started the ceremony and we all gave feedback to each other, which really helped everyone.”
