Middle and Upper School Diplomats Work Together

In the weeks leading up to the conference, upper school MUN mentors helped the middle school delegates prepare by practicing debate skills, researching topics and refining their positions.

Brittany Farrar, middle school MUN advisor, said, “Practices are much more impactful when we can divide the team and put them into mini-lessons based on their level or what skills they want to improve that day. Having our upper school volunteers around is essential for everyone to get the practice and guidance they need to grow as delegates.”

Bee Fleming ’30, who took home her first gavel, winning Best Delegate, said having the upper school students attend their meetings has been invaluable: “They help us learn how to make effective speeches and write position papers.”

Preparation was essential for Fleming’s role in her assigned EthicalMUN “Stranger Things” committee, which focused on regulating interdimensional portals, a central element of the popular sci-fi thriller Netflix series. 

“I prepared by watching the show and learning about Mike Wheeler as a character,” Fleming said. “I also made a plan on how I wanted the committee to go, days ahead, which is what helped me win.”

Stephanie Serota ’30, Ava Losen ’30, Inanna Cappello ’32 and Theo Williams ’33 received Most Improved awards, a new award this year, which recognizes skill development over the course of all committee sessions.

“Winning over half the ‘most improved’ awards given at the conference shows that our middle school team, like our upper school one, is flexible, committed to growth and able to navigate setbacks with grit and poise,” Farrar said. “The future of MUN at Masters is bright!”

A large part of that success comes from the support of seasoned and passionate upper school MUN students Clio Foley ’26, Ginger Yancovich ’26 and Talia Hird ’27.

Yancovich was happy for the middle schoolers’ recent accomplishments. “It's so great because they do a lot of work and a lot of prep, and they've been working really hard for the past couple of weeks,” she said.

As the middle school MUN delegates prepare for an upcoming spring conference, Yancovich, Foley and Hird have been working with the eighth graders on the middle school team.

Hird said, “Since the eighth graders are a bit more experienced than the new fifth and sixth graders and the seventh and eighth graders who are joining for the first time, we try to cater to their skill set and make it challenging for everybody because everyone's at different stages in their MUN career.”