CANYON, Texas — A student delegation from West Texas A&M University recently earned honors at the National Model United Nations Conference in New York City.

The students, whose trip was sponsored by WT’s Terry B. Rogers College of Education and Social Sciences, earned honorable mention delegate awards on each of the three committees on which they served.

“All six students performed exceptionally well in their roles as delegates, demonstrating strong research skills, effective communication, critical thinking and diplomatic negotiation,” said Dr. Ming Xie, assistant professor of emergency management administration and faculty adviser. “They distinguished themselves and WT through their commendable work.”

National Model UN is the world’s largest, most prestigious and longest-running university-level Model UN event. This year, more than 2,000 students from more than 300 colleges and universities from around the world took part in the conference, held April 1 to 6.

Participating WT students were Helena Barnett, a senior accounting major from Amarillo; Ubaldo Campa, a sophomore political science major from Amarillo; Joel Diehl, a senior political science major from Midland; Emmanuel Gonzalez, a freshman political science major from Bovina; Logan Johnson, a senior electrical engineering major from Amarillo; and Collin Williamson, a junior political science major from Clovis, New Mexico.

The WT students were assigned to represent Burkina Faso in simulated UN committees, participating in formal debates and negotiations on the General Assembly 2, International Atomic Energy Agency and UN High Commissioner for Refugees committees. They collaborated on drafting resolutions, which were then debated, amended and voted upon by committee members.

WT’s commitment to undergraduate academic excellence is a key maxim of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign’s new goal is to reach $175 million by 2025; currently, it has raised nearly $160 million.

Photo: The West Texas A&M University Model UN team recently won three awards at a national conference. Pictured are, from left, Joel Diehl, Helena Barnett, Collin Williamson, Ubaldo Campa, Logan Johnson and Emmanuel Gonzalez.