Seaver College Model UN Team Earns Multiple Awards in International Competition

The Seaver College Model United Nations team recently competed at the McGill Model United Nations Assembly in Montreal, Canada, which is the second largest event of its kind in North America. At this international gathering of 1,300 delegates, Pepperdine’s undergraduates earned two awards including a best delegate and a verbal commendation honor.

"As the faculty advisor for Model UN, I'm immensely proud of the students' success,” says Felicity Vabulas, the Blanche E. Seaver Associate Professor of International Studies at Seaver College. “Our students are some of the most eloquent and creative minds when it comes to brainstorming diplomatic solutions to the world's most intractable challenges. Their ability to deliberate multilateral outcomes is a skill that is now more important than ever."

Model United Nations events simulate the bureaucratic structure of actual UN meetings. Students must be prepared to represent a myriad different countries and their interests over a broad spectrum of issues. Success requires both deep learning and broad knowledge, as participants draw from their investigative studies to fulfill roles in both the general assembly and specific committees. 

At Montreal’s 2025 conference, senior William Hibbard was named best delegate in an ad hoc crisis committee and first-year student Camille Day was awarded a verbal commendation for her contributions to a general assembly. These recognitions distinguish the Seaver College team, its arduous preparation, and its commitment to excelling in this extracurricular activity.

McGill’s assembly served as the third contest in which Seaver College students participated this year. Beyond their showing in Canada, the undergraduates traveled to Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and the University of California, Santa Barbara. By competing in this series of individual contests, the Seaver team has forged a new—and more challenging and competitive—path for the program.

In addition to the exciting intramural competitions, the Model UN experience presents Seaver College undergraduates with unique learning opportunities that hone students’ public speaking abilities, research techniques, and writing skills. 

“I can't describe how valuable the Model UN experience has been,” says Jessica Locke, who serves as student president of the team. “Our delegates are so well prepared, even as first years, to handle writing assignments and presentations.”

In the last two years, Model UN alumni Joshua Sullivan (’23) earned a Gaither Fellowship with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Kylie Jones (’22), was named a Gaither Fellow and a Knight-Hennessy Scholar at Stanford University. Such achievements demonstrate how the experience can shape a student’s discipline and intellect.  

 “It is the most valuable thing that I've done in my college career,” says Locke. “It puts you a little bit ahead of the curve.”