With Olentangy home to over 70 clubs, students have the option to join; the majority find it a struggle to stand out amongst the chaos. However, one club has remained popular among the student body for years: Model United Nations. The largest club in OHS, and perhaps one of the most influential, Model UN has hundreds of members between the district’s high schools and middle schools; it helps students grow in a variety of skills, including oratory, collaboration, and leadership.
With the club meant to mirror the official United Nations, Model UN gives students a country, and a variety of tasks to work on from Oct. though Feb. Once assigned a country, a group’s first task is to research the background of their country, which can help them to identify potential issues present. Based on their research, students can then choose an issue their country struggles with, and come up with a solution to address it-this forms the basis of their resolution, a speech worked on through Dec.-Feb. These tasks build toward the summit, where students have the opportunity to present their resolution, engage with peers, and even win awards for performance. There are two main parts of the summit: the council session and the General Assembly (GA).
“Council sessions are a small group of multiple country groups from different schools who each present their resolutions and debate the other groups to defend it. GA is all middle school and all high school groups separately, and only a select few country groups get to present in GA. If your group’s resolution is scored highly, then you are able to progress to GA,” Bhavana Balamurugan, General Assembly officer, said.
Often placed over a three-day period, the summit doesn’t just include resolution presentations; numerous other fun events like the talent show and dance are incorporated for participants throughout the weekend. There’s also a block in the summit set aside for Crisis, an activity where groups collaborate with four to five other countries in order to solve a collective problem. The activity encourages critical thought and teamwork, and offers the chance for students to meet other delegates they might not have known, as well as the opportunity to win awards.
“Crisis helps encourage teamwork and collaboration as the goal of the project is to find solutions for an issue through using everyone’s ideas,” Smreeti Panpalia, 2025 Best Crisis Delegate and Model UN member since 6th grade, said. “During Model UN many activities such as general assembly and council sessions require you to sit by your group and by having crisis, we get an opportunity to learn about a different part of the world, learn about a new issue, and work with others.”
One of the most unique aspects of Model UN is it is for the most part student-led. Each school involved has a Vice President and President, and representatives all across the district make up the General Assembly staff. Each member of the staff has a different responsibility, but they all work together to run the summit and General Assembly and share a passion for the extracurricular.
“What I love most about Model UN is that it’s a really cool space where everyone has a voice to debate and speak their minds freely. It’s given me lifelong friends, leadership and public speaking experience, and the confidence to speak up for what I believe in,” Arya Tangirila, Olentangy’s Model UN President and district Curriculum Head, said.
While the sign-up date may have already passed, be on the lookout for announcements about Model UN next school year, and follow their Instagram (@olentangymodelun) to stay informed about all Model UN does.
