From “Kung Fu Panda” to the World Health Organization, Rock Ridge’s Model United Nations (Model UN) club hosted and organized their very first conference in the history of Rock Ridge. The club hosted committees with a wide range of contrasting topics, all of which revolved around the same goal: targeting issues and coming up with creative solutions on the spot. 

Dubbed “RockMUN,” the conference was organized by club sponsors Brandon Chambers and Steven Mobley, along with the Model UN officers. Originally, the club was expecting around a dozen students, but to their surprise, 230 delegates signed up. This required hard work and dedication, with both sponsors and officers relying heavily on their saving grace: Secretary General senior Saanvi Movva. “I think Saanvi has all the answers,” Mobley said. “When I have questions I go to her; even tonight, I was like ‘Where’s this?’ or ‘Who knows this?’ [and she knew].” 

The conference hosted several schools all across the DMV region and consisted of four different committees: the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), World Health Organization (WHO), “Fast Food Frenzy,” and “Kung Fu Panda.” Additionally, a separate room was dedicated to Rock Ridge Model UN members called the Crisis Backrooms Staff who formulated skits and scenarios to drive the plots required for the  “Fast Food Frenzy” and “Kung Fu Panda” events.

The specialized and crisis committees showed the most explosive events. Working behind the scenes, the Crisis Backrooms Staff formulated careful yet flamboyant skits based on the suggestions from their delegates to fuel plotlines in the “Kung Fu Panda” committee and the Fast Food Frenzy committee. The point of these skits were to introduce unique  scenarios that required delegates to form new solutions on the spot. “[We] are back rooms for Model UN, which is basically what happens in a committee when [the delegates] are passing notes and stuff. A committee [has] a background guy and they give you a plot and characters, but you never know how it’s gonna go.” 

Freshman Aarushi Thottempudi was a crisis actor for two MUN committees. As the “Kung Fu Panda” and “Fast Food Frenzy” committees moved through their agendas, crisis actors like Thottempudi periodically ambushed them with new predicaments. For her, participating in MUN has helped her break out of her comfort zone. “Before I joined Model UN, I was really afraid to talk to people,” Thottempudi said. “But after joining Model UN, I got a lot more practice in making speeches and talking in front of a room of people.”

For others, Model UN has exposed them to diverse perspectives, which they say equips them to succeed in and outside of the classroom. Nidhi Kanuri, a freshman from Briar Woods High School detailed her fascination with real world events. “I’m a lot more intertwined with what’s happening in the world politically,” Kanuri said. “You have to learn quite a bit of history from MUN.” Kanuri also says MUN equips her in English class, particularly when it comes to position-paper-styled assignments. 

The MUN event, having spanned two days, drew a large crowd of dedicated students. To finalize the event, exceptional participants were awarded during a ceremony.

Gallery • 9 Photos

Nidhi Manchala

Freshman Aarushi Thottempudi and freshman Aritra Shoam (Left to right) enact a scene for the Kung Fu Panda crisis community to drive the plot forward and entertain the delegates at the same time. “You never know how it’s gonna go,” junior Richelle Mathew said. “Everyone’s, like, trying to kill another person, one person’s trying to gain a bunch of money, and we let them know if it happens or not.”