Walking out of the JFK international Airport, Sophomore Henry Wallace blasts Taylor Swift’s hit “Welcome to New York,” a song perfectly fitting for the 2015 Saint Stephen’s CMUNCE team to pile into a van and head for the Hotel Bellclaire on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

CMUNCE, affectionately pronounced “See Monkey,” is an acronym for Columbia Model United Nations and Conference Exposition. 12 Saint Stephen’s students, along with 750 other debaters, attend this nationally acclaimed and prestigious conference every year. This 2015 session, however, was especially rewarding, in and out of committee.

A day in the life of a Saint Stephen’s Model UN’er follows the principle, “work hard, play hard”. Every year, Saint Stephen’s students arrive the day before the conference and participate in team bonding activities by adventuring around New York, exploring the city with a sense of wonder. On the night of our first day, everyone reconvened in Times Square for a night of theatrical entertainment and enjoyed Aladdin. Senior and first-time CMUNCE member Paige Lindsay was a huge fan of the technical sets and the use of pyrotechnics. Hayes Chatham eagerly agreed. He loved the laughs, especially from the Genie. “That genie who won the Tony? He totally deserved it,” raved Lindsay.

The busy and activity-filled day concluded, but the fun continued despite the first day of the debate sessions starting. There was ample free time before the exciting first committee session, so after stocking up on snacks from Dylan’s Candy Bar, the team bonding continued at the Central Park ice skating rink. After a morning full of icy falls and lots of laughs, it was time to make Saint Stephen’s proud at Columbia University.

Committees at CMUNCE have high school students representing countries, people, and even multinational corporations during these simulations. Paige Lindsay’s committee was set in 1960’s Hollywood, where fear of communism in the media ran rampant. Sophomores Alex Siegel and Trevor Donnelley worked together in a joint committee that addressed 21st century events in Southeast Asia, with an aggressive China constantly threatening and attempting to invade. Other committees were held in variety of times and spaces, such as 843 C.E. during the Carolingian Empire (to discuss course of action to be taken during a rampant war), Barcelona in November of 2014 (to determine if the region of Catalonia should be an independent nation), 1942 in Yugoslavia and at the current-day United Nations Headquarters discussing international trade policy of Rhino horns. Debates were intense, with alliances formed, assassinations attempted and crisis after crisis keeping all delegates on their toes.

By the end of the five day trip, students were exhausted, but their hard work during session had paid off. Six of the twelve delegates from SSES received awards, announced publicly in front of all the student attendees, Columbia students, and the faculty chaperones. “Vocal Commendation,” an award for being highly attentive and enthusiastic during committee, was awarded to Henry Wallace ’17, Devon Sullivan ’16, and Grace Horn ’16. “Honorable Mention“was awarded to Hayes Chatham ’18, for his persuasiveness and ability to resolve his committee’s crises.

Rarely do freshmen win awards when attending Model UN conferences and Chatham’s success is a Saint Stephen’s victory in itself.

“Best Delegate” is an award handed to students in the form of a gavel. This prestigious object is enviable for all Model UNers, as it signifies unparallelled performance over the three-day conference. Captain Tim Macchi ’15 and the team’s second-in-command Dylan Patterson ’15, won the gavel for their teamwork in the committee titled “Special Summit in Nigeria on Terrorism and Health: 2014,” tackling the imminent Ebola problem. Both thought there could have been no better way to finish out their Model UN experience.

However, both of these veteran debaters had another shock in store. Because Saint Stephen’s had received so many awards, the Columbia Conference named our school “Outstanding Small Delegation,” a plaque never won by the Falcons before. It signifies that SSES had the second highest number of accredited awards among schools who sent twelve or less students.

The CMUNCE trip this year has surpassed everyone’s expectations, with the Saint Stephen’s delegation performing at a level higher than they could have ever imagined. Leaving big shoes to fill for the Harvard Model United Nations and Harvard Model Congress trips leaving in February. The Falcon community is proud of all they have achieved. To quote the proud author of this article, “Everyone’s become great friends. That type of team relationship, combined with our dedication, is exactly what we need to perform at an even higher level next year.”