In the heart of New York City, just off the bustling streets of Times Square and Broadway, thousands of students from countries across the world came together under the common goal of discussing real-world issues through debate and argument. At the annual National High School Model UN Conference (NHSMUN), delegates engage in one of the nations most well known stages, with Loomis sending twenty-two of their own.
Eli Krasnoff ‘25, one of the Loomis head delegates, shared that his passion for Model UN comes from a genuine love for problem-solving and a pursuit of justice in an environment that has real possibility for change.“NHSMUN stood out as being one of the most well-organized conferences I’ve been to, with very qualified and dedicated chairs. Their background guides were from 60-80 pages, and 30 page updates [were made] on both topics that included relevant recent events.”
Shane Lischin ‘26, an experienced delegate helping lead Loomis’ own conference later in the year, shared that Model UN started as a hobby, but later bloomed into an important part of his Loomis career. “My favorite part was definitely the location NHSMUN had in the city. I got to explore and feel the city environment, which meant that I wasn’t overwhelmed by a constant change of pace whenever we left the committee.”
Alyssa Ji ‘27, who’s also an advanced debater, seemed to echo this environment aspect and the attention-to-detail, even with thousands of students, NHSMUN had to offer.
“Since NHSMUN has strong connections with the actual United Nations and featured some guest speakers from the actual thing, we got to experience realistic diplomacy.”
With NHSMUN being one of the most well-known conferences in the United States, and being naturally connected to many international parts of the world, delegates were able to meet with many new people, while also sharing memorable experiences with Loomis’ own.
Oliver Zhang ‘25, who’s also a senior debater in tandem with MUN shared his own experience. “I was honored to be David Liu's double delegate. It was really fun working together because we have always been on the same wavelength.”
Yet, when many people think of MUN, they think of competitive delegates arguing for the top spot and a superficial award to take home, especially in such a large setting. Eli refutes this thinking, knowing that the best delegates are those who genuinely strive to fix the issues in their committee.
“In MUN, the entire goal is to work collaboratively toward a shared goal. I think NHSMUN definitely reinforced this understanding, since, as judges in the ICJ(International Court of Justice), we were meant to serve as impartial interpreters of the law.”
As a leader, Eli was able to see his fellow delegates grow as they started to follow this thinking. “Generally, I don’t like to think of MUN as a competition, so committees with engaged and talented delegates create more comprehensive solutions, and they push our delegates to become better. I was very happy to see firsthand Loomis delegates rise to meet the challenge resented by being in committees with highly skilled delegates.”
Within committees, authentic bonding, entertaining events, such as exploring central park, eating family-style dinner as a team, and hearing a live performance of Empire State of Mind at opening ceremony, NHSMUN has created a long-lasting impression upon many of the Loomis students. As the final travel conference of the year is left in the past, Eli ‘25 shares a quote that represents the conference.
“Have the respect and confidence to listen first to understand, then to speak to be understood. – One of Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits”

NOTE FROM THE WRITER – THANK YOU MR. EDGAR!!!