Several Ivy League schools had to take a back seat to Florida International University’s Model United Nations team, which recently achieved its highest ranking ever, according to Best Delegate, the organization that ranks the Model UN teams based on their performances.
FIU landed second place this year in North America and ranked ahead of prestigious national universities such as Georgetown, Harvard and Yale.
It is the highest ranked team in Florida and the highest from any public university.
“I am very excited and proud of the program and all the students that worked hard this semester to achieve this ranking,” said Ethan Roberts, director of the FIU Model UN program, a part of the Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs.
To clinch the No. 1 spot, FIU must knock off the University of Chicago, which has held on to the top spot for three years.
The FIU group made the mark during the University of Pennsylvania Model UN Conference, Boston University’s Boston Area Model UN Conference, and Georgetown University’s National Collegiate Security Conference.
Model United Nations programs are designed to bring together different universities across the United States, as well as hundreds of college students, with the goal of furthering international awareness and building consensus.
Hatim Bukhair, a senior studying International Relations, said the most important quality he has gained from FIU MUN is confidence.
“I’ve learned that I can do anything I set my mind to,” he said. “I learned how to walk into a room, make my opinions heard, negotiate and build consensus and move things forward, all qualities needed or my professional life.”