From February 1-3, 2026, six Scheck Hillel High School students attended the Yeshiva University National Model United Nations (YUNMUN) Conference in Stamford, Connecticut, where they competed against several Jewish Day Schools from around the world.
These students represented the country of Bolivia in their committees. Participants included Jaia Herdan ‘26, who was in the African Summit, Jeremy Dejman ‘27, in the UN International Children’s Emergency Fund, Tamar Grobman ‘27, in the World Food Programme, Shira Sager ‘27, in the Counter-Terrorism Committee, Annie Slomovitz ‘28, in the Committee on Science and Technology for Development, and Sophia Gruszka ‘28, in the Middle Eastern Summit.
The delegates engaged in deep, intellectual debate and focused on addressing key global issues. From AI-related topics to government stability in Africa, they each successfully voted on three resolutions in our committees throughout the conference.
Representing Bolivia required these participants to research policies and advocate for the nation’s beliefs. In addition to debating global policy, this experience helped the delegates improve their public speaking, diplomacy, and teamwork skills, and allowed them to meet peers from Jewish day schools across the country.
Throughout the six committee meetings, delegates delivered opening speeches, participated in caucuses, worked with others to draft solutions for their topics, and came up with resolutions to a surprise, unexpected crisis that came up during the conference. Overall, the conference allowed participants to engage in meaningful conversations about global topics while enhancing key skills such as public speaking and debate.
