Dear Delegates,

I’m incredibly excited and honored to welcome you all to the Thirty Fifth Session of the Ivy League Model United Nations Conference. It is my upmost privilege to introduce myself as one of your Under Secretary-Generals of General Assemblies. I was an Assistant Secretary-General for General Assemblies at ILMUNC XXXIV, as well as a delegate in General Assemblies at ILMUNC when I was in high school. The General Assemblies organ has become very close to my heart, as I’ve learned so much from every experience and have met wonderful friends through my times as a delegate. It is my priority to ensure that all of you have experiences as impactful, memorable and enriching as mine as delegates at ILMUNC XXXV.

I was born in Los Alamos, New Mexico, but was raised in Great Falls, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C. I realized throughout high school that my passions were in the application of economics to the broader community; international relations, government, and the nature of global cultures captured my attention, and these interests have driven me towards both my academics and involvement in the International Affairs Association at Penn. After being a delegate at ILMUNC in high school, I knew that I wanted to continue to be a part of the conference and help give others the experiences I had. Outside of ILMUNC, I enjoy hiking, vegan baking, petting corgis, exploring restaurants, and spending time with my friends in the beautiful city of Philadelphia.

The ILMUNC XXXV Staff has been working tirelessly to put together the best conference yet, and I can’t wait to see you all in January. I’m excited to see each delegate engaged in thought-provoking debate and dynamic collaboration, and I would love to meet you all, so please feel free to introduce yourselves. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns, and I look forward to what the future brings us!

Best Regards,

Laura Chu

Under-Secretary-General, General Assembly
The 35th Ivy League Model United Nations Conference

 

Dear Delegates,

I am incredibly excited to welcome all of you to the Thirty Fifth Session of the Ivy League Model United Nations Conference. I am also honored to introduce myself as one of your Under Secretary-General of General Assemblies. I was an Assistant Secretary-General for ECOSOC's at ILMUNC XXXIV as well as a delegate in General Assemblies and ECOSOC's when I was a delegate at ILMUNC throughout high school, and I had an amazing experience at conference each year which encouraged me to apply for Penn. I’ve learned so much with each experience I’ve had at ILMUNC, from my time as a delegate to working to organize the conference, and I cannot wait to have another amazing experience this year and make ILMUNC XXXV this best it can possibly be.

A little bit about myself; I was born and raised in Edison, NJ and loved my small town almost as much as I know love living in the city. I attended John P. Stevens High School and always harbored a passion for international affairs which led me to compete in Model UN throughout High school. For three years I attended ILMUNC as a delegate, and every conference convinced me that Penn was the perfect school for me. When I began at Penn I knew that I wanted to continue to be a part of the conference so I joined the International Affairs Association to help organize the conference that gave me some of my best high school memories. At Penn I am majoring in Economics in Wharton and International Studies through the college with a minor in Spanish. Outside of being an Under Secretary-General for ILMUNC XXXIV, I am learning how to play the ukulele, always eating dessert and skiing/snowboarding.

The ILMUNC XXXV Staff has been working tirelessly to put together a conference that will force you to think outside of every box, disregard all social constructs and simply be intrigued. I am excited to see how each and every delegate approaches the issues we have presented you with and hope to see unique, thought provoking solutions. I look forward to meeting you all and as a wise man, Chance the Rapper, once said "In the real world we just people with ideas", and we can't wait to see all of your wonderful ideas.

Best,

Ashley Shah

Under-Secretary-General, General Assembly
The 35th Ivy League Model United Nations Conference

Dear Delegates,

Firstly, welcome to this year’s ILMUNC XXXV Conference, undoubtedly one of the best conferences to date! I am honored to serve as the Under-Secretary General of the ECOSOC committees, and my primary goal is to ensure that you all have a wonderful weekend full of fruitful debates and new friendships.

As delegates in smaller-sized committees you will have the opportunity to get to know each other better, formulate quality solutions and participate in fast-paced debates revolving around economic and social issues.

A little bit about myself, I am a sophomore currently majoring in Economics hoping to someday play a part in changing the world we live in (Too ambitious? Possibly.) Originally from the tiny island of Cyprus, I participated in Model United Nations conferences throughout high school, both as a delegate and as an organizer. In the future, I hope to apply the knowledge gained in MUN simulations to real life situations. At Penn, outside of ILMUNC I am involved in the Partnerships and International Aid branch of the International Affairs Association and in the 180 Degrees Consulting Club. In my free time, you’ll find me sipping coffee all around Philly, so feel free to ask me for recommendations! I am also a huge fan of brunch and try to hit up as many spots as I can. When I am not studying for midterms or hanging out with friends, that is!

My primary goal during conference is to ensure that the committees run smoothly. You will be seeing a lot of me as I will be dropping in committee to make announcements and deliver rose grams (I expect a rose from every one of you!), and I hope to get to know you guys! Feel free to reach out to me before, during or even after conference with any questions about the committee or about my experience at Penn. I look forward to seeing you very soon!

Warm Regards,

Danae Stavrou

Under-Secretary-General, Economic and Social Council
The 35th Ivy League Model United Nations Conference

 

Dear Delegates,

Welcome to the 35th Ivy League Model United Nations Conference! I am proud to say I will be serving as your Under Secretary-General for Specialized Bodies. I’m so excited to continue my experience from last year, where I served as an Assistant Secretary-General. I can’t wait to work with all of you to make ILMUNC 35 the best possible.

To introduce myself, I’ll be a sophomore in the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business, which is a dual degree program across the College of Arts and Sciences and the Wharton School, with a focus on Mandarin. Born in New Delhi, India, I moved to the suburbs of Philadelphia at a young age and have stayed there since. While I enjoyed my competitive four years at Model UN in high school, I find the other side of conferences just as interesting. Outside of the academic world, I am passionate about languages, coffee, Spanish music, and cooking.

My fellow Secretariat members and I have put in a tremendous amount of effort into ILMUNC 35, and we can’t wait to see how it all culminates. I look forward to watching each and every delegate grow to spearhead global social, political, and economic discussions. Please do not hesitate to reach out about ILMUNC, Penn, or anything else you would love to chat about. See you all soon!

Warmest regards,

Joshita Varshney

Under-Secretary-General, Specialized Agencies
The 35th Ivy League Model United Nations Conference

 

Dear Delegates,

It’s my pleasure and honour to welcome you all to the thirty-fifth session of the Ivy League Model United Nations Conference! As an Under-Secretary- General, I, along with other USGs, will be overseeing anything substantive in nature with regards to committees. I’m particularly thrilled to be the USG of Specialized Agencies as they are smaller in size and grapple with some extremely interesting and stimulating topics. In high school, I exclusively participated in Specialized Agencies, so these committees are a particular passion of mine.

I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada (yes, I speak French!), so my freshman year at Penn heavily revolved around exploring Philadelphia and its surrounding cities. As I mentioned, I participated in Model UN all throughout high school, and this experience developed my passion for International Relations, human rights, and law. As such, I am in the College of Arts & Sciences, majoring in Political Science and minoring in Legal Studies. Wanting to continue my involvement in Model UN in university, I joined ILMUNC as an Assistant-Secretary-General last year. Besides ILMUNC, I am involved in Community Outreach and Engagement, another branch of the International Affairs Association, NextGen America, and a human rights NGO. In my spare time, I read, discover new music, and binge watch the latest and greatest shows.

This year, as with all years passed, the Specialized Agencies are creative in nature, incorporating the modern and historical global issues. As such, these committees will require that you be flexible and open to change, try to rewrite history, or develop a stable path for the future. I urge you all to collaborate with each other, take risks, and not be afraid of failure. No matter how experienced you are, Specialized Agencies are a great way to stretch your thinking, approach topics from different perspectives, and build upon your Model UN skills.

As the USG of Specialized Agencies, I will be popping into committee sessions throughout the conference to make announcements, collect feedback, and answer any questions you may have. Please don’t be shy to say hello to me if you see me and introduce yourself! I loved getting to know the Secretariat members when I was a high school delegate, so I want to offer that same experience to you. Finally, if you have any questions leading up to or during conference, don’t hesitate to contact me. The ILMUNC XXXV secretariat, chairs, and general staff have been working hard to make this conference as great as (and even better than) last year’s, so we can’t wait to meet you and help provide the best experience for you.

Best Regards,

Lexie Shah

Under-Secretary-General, Specialized Agencies
The 35th Ivy League Model United Nations Conference

Dear Delegates,

It is my honor to welcome you all to the 35th Ivy League Model United Nations Conference and to serve as your Under-Secretary-General of Crisis Simulations. In less than a year, you will all be in the wonderful city of Philadelphia and embarking on one of the most engaging learning environments as part of your respective Crisis Committees. I hope you share my excitement for the unique experience that ILMUNC’s creative crisis committees can offer.

A little about me, I am currently a sophomore in the Wharton School studying finance and statistics with a minor in mathematics in the College of Arts and Sciences. Outside of serving as an Under-Secretary-General for ILMUNC 35, I am also heavily involved as the Vice-President of Communications for Wharton Asia Exchange, planning events for the Wharton Undergraduate Finance Club, and modeling for Penn Beauty. I am originally from the warm and humid city of Bangkok, Thailand, where I went to school and was introduced to Model UN.

I joined my school’s MUN team as a nervous middle-schooler, surrounded by experienced and confident high schoolers, but instantly fell in love with both the academic aspects but also the social aspects of the activity. I went on serve as President of the team junior and senior year of high school. In my junior year, I started and served as Secretary-General of our high school conference and also as the Secretary-General of the national conference, THAIMUN. I developed a aptitude for event planning and being able to deliver the best and most rewarding conference experience possible for delegates, staffers, and advisors, and fell in love with the personal relationships I made with my teammates through the countless hours of labour put into the planning and execution of the conference. Crisis committees offer a unique experience for the delegates involved in that they allow delegates to think outside the box and see the results of their decisions in real time. Delegates will learn to understand that all actions have short and long term consequences by immersing themselves in the role and character of another human being, whether dead or alive, real or fiction. Crisis committees will challenge even the most experienced delegates to stretch themselves and collaborate with new people to come up with innovative solutions to problems that they can’t even dream of in the span of four days.

Whether this ILMUNC is your first or last conference, whether you’re a scared newbie or an experienced veteran, ILMUNC is an environment where you can grow as a world citizen and exercise your intellectual curiosity. Whether this be through diplomatic bilateral talks with fellow delegates, or an assassination attempt of your own president, I promise you that the time you spend at ILMUNC will be some of the most stressful but exciting days. Your chairs and crisis directors have been working tirelessly to deliver you the best committee experience possible and I am sure they share my excitement to get to know you all in January.

I can’t wait to welcome you to ILMUNC and the wonderful city of Philadelphia in a few months. Until then, please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions or comments.

Best Regards,

Bhurichaya (Proud) Tuksinwarajarn

Under-Secretary-General, Crisis Simulations
The 35th Ivy League Model United Nations Conference

 

Dear Delegates,

Welcome to the thirty-fifth session of ILMUNC! The entire secretariat is thrilled to have you here. I will be serving as your Under Secretary General of Crisis Simulations, and it is my primary goal to ensure that you all have the best experience possible.

Crisis committees are challenging yet extremely rewarding. They encourage and push you to come up with innovative solutions on the spot, and the fast-paced, dynamic style of debate leaves you without a boring moment in committee. In a room with less than 15 people, you are going to be an essential part of how the simulation plays out. Even the best delegates find themselves in positions where they must learn from others and act spontaneously. That is one of the biggest reasons why I am so excited to be serving as a USG of crisis: every single delegate will grow from the experience as a delegate, creative thinker, public speaker, or leader.

I absolutely loved the crisis committees that I was a part of in high school. I grew up in the Philly suburbs (about 45 minutes away from Penn), and I actually attended ILMUNC as a delegate twice during my sophomore and senior years. At my first Model UN conference, I was the shy freshman girl that sat in the back of the committee room and barely said a word during the entire conference. Model UN soon became one of my biggest activities in high school, and I served as the Secretary General of my school’s team. I felt like I learned so much from Model UN, and I have become a much stronger public speaker and leader from the experiences, leading me to become involved with ILMUNC in college!

I am currently a sophomore pursuing concentrations in Finance, Management, and Business Analytics in the Wharton School as well as a minor in Computer Science. Other than ILMUNC, I am involved with a South Asian Fusion Dance team, student government, and a consulting club. I also love entrepreneurship and am currently working on a edutech nonprofit called Peerlift (www.peerliftorg)! Feel free to reach out or chat with me during conference whether Model UN related or not.

Going back to conference, the secretariat, senior staffers, and crisis staffers have been working tirelessly to make sure that every delegate has an amazing experience. Whether this be your first conference or your twelfth, I hope that each and every one of you come out of your committees as a stronger delegate and person. Challenge yourself. Persevere. Have fun. You get the most out of this experience by what you put in, and I can’t wait to see what you bring to conference in January! Reach out at any time with questions or comments and I look forward to meeting you all.

Warmly,

Sravya Alla

Under-Secretary-General, Crisis Simulations
The 35th Ivy League Model United Nations Conference