Landon’s academic program develops our boys as scholars and servant leaders, thinkers and creators, as men of character and commitment who are ready for college and life beyond. A glimpse of this vast potential was on full display when members of Landon’s Model United Nations Club embodied the ideal qualities of world leaders at the Washington International Relations Conference.
“I really like Model UN because I like pretending, I like history, and I like to talk to people,” said Cyrus Akhavan ’28, who began his Model UN journey in Middle School. “It also allows me to meet people who are likeminded.”
The 2024 conference, held at American University, focused on indigenous peoples' rights across Latin America and the Caribbean. It featured workshops on public speaking, parliamentary procedure, and committee operations, followed by Model UN simulations. Students represented their assigned countries or political figures within the United Nations Human Rights Council, The Congress of the Republic of Peru, and the United Nations Security Council.
“When I went to my first conference, I just thought that ‘Oh, I love this,’” said Fimiyo Bejide ’26, who has been a Model UN member for three years. “You get public speaking practice, and it actually makes you feel like you’re a government leader.”
Cyrus and Fimiyo were joined by fellow club members Nicholas Bruno ’26, Nathan Cantor ’27, Zach Dinesman ’28, Steven Herrle ’28, Alexander Konigshofer ’27, Sean Mahdavian ’27, Mivanka Ponnamperuma ’27, Thavisha Ponnamperuma ’25, and Amad Sangare ’26.
Dr. Dimmy Herard, Upper School History Teacher and Model UN faculty sponsor, explained the school's history curriculum is instrumental in preparing students for dynamic environments the conference.
For example, the Form I Contemporary Global Issues class dives deep into the development process, economic growth challenges, democratic governance, and social cohesion, topics that are at the center of Model UN debates.
Along with ensuring students are prepared no matter what global issue they’re presented with, the curriculum also emphasizes other critical skills that world leaders apply in their roles.
“Learning how to conduct research, present information before an audience, argue a position, and collaborate with others are all skills that we put to practice in class every day and translate seamlessly to the world of Model UN,” said Dr. Herard.
Konigshofer and Bejide agree that the confidence they gain every day in the classroom is integral to their success outside of it.
“Going into the conference, I had to do some research for the committee I was in, and I think history class really prepared me for that because I knew what reliable sources to use,” said Konigshofer. “Doing a lot of public speaking in my French and history classes helped me feel confident when I was giving my ideas.”
“I like Model UN because of the public speaking. I feel like I needed to grow more in that skill, so I knew that I wanted to do this and stick with it,” said Bejide. “Learning how to collaborate with people is also important. You need to know how to work with others in a group to make a solution or work on a specific task.”
