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In November, a dozen Calvin students attended what is considered the premiere Model United Nations conference in the Midwest. More than 1,000 students from 67 colleges and universities attended the conference held in downtown Chicago.  

The event is a learning experience that provides realistic simulations of the United Nations for students. The goal is for participants, who represent 109 different countries in the simulation, to work toward creating resolutions that arrive at multifaceted solutions.

Receiving top honors

During the four days of sessions, the Calvin team, which represented the country of Kenya, set themselves apart from their peers by receiving an overall best delegation award. 
 
“Receiving this award is especially meaningful. It is the highest honor given and this is the first time in Calvin’s history that our team has earned it,” said Lathan VanderLeest ’26, a political science major on a pre-law track.  
 
VanderLeest says the award is given by the AMUN staff on the basis of an overall delegation’s diplomatic attitude, formal writing ability, public-speaking skill, teamwork, and mastery of the topics at hand. 
 
“Calvin students were generally leading conversations, leading groupwork, prepared to talk to issues at length, and able to give speeches confidently,” said VanderLeest.

Standing out with soft skills

The skills that were on full display are ones VanderLeest said are intentionally crafted in the classrooms at Calvin—one of those, knowing how to work across difference. 
 
“I think a large part of this exercise is the ability to come to some kind of agreement with people,” said VanderLeest, who serves as the president of Calvin’s Model UN team. “Calvin has given me a lot of room to grow in my own beliefs and given me the room to challenge things when needed. In the courses I’ve taken I’ve found that Calvin does a good job of allowing for a balance between your existing beliefs and allowing for new beliefs to take hold and flourish and you are really given the room to synthesize them if possible, but also to weigh them, to understand on a very basic level right from wrong, but also to allow for real academic growth and further and deeper understanding.” 
 
VanderLeest is heading into his final semester at Calvin and he’s still deciding between a few career possibilities. But one thing is certain: his time at Calvin and in Model UN has been extremely formative. 
 
“I’ve discovered that both the world is massive and there’s a place for me in it. My time here has broadened my horizons in ways I never thought possible,” said VanderLeest. “God’s sovereignty was stressed to me throughout my time here, and in some ways knowing that is comforting as I try to figure out what I’m doing for the future. There’s a big world out there and God’s with me through it.”