In the past year, college organizations have faced many obstacles when it comes to how to hold competitions.

But that did not stop the Midwest Model United Nations (MMUN) Conference from putting their best foot forward during this years’ competition.

The 61st MMUN Conference was held virtually from Feb. 18-21 where UW Oshkosh’s Model United Nations (MUN) working from Sage Hall took home 32 awards.

Freshman Kallena Pluemer said the online format of the St. Louis competition made everything more challenging.

“Not only were there connectivity errors, but making connections and talking one on one was more difficult than ever,” she said. “However, I felt as if I still utilized a similar set of skills that come in handy everyday.”

Sophomore Sami Christiansen also had this to add about her experience on how COVID-19 affected their team.

“We learned that we needed to communicate better as a team and rely on each other more,” she said. “Some members held extra responsibilities that they wouldn’t have normally held. Due to the online format, the days felt longer and screen fatigue is a real thing.”

UWO’s MUN will be competing in the National Conference, which normally would be held in New York City but due to COVID-19 will be held virtually April 5 – 8.

The National Conference is the biggest MUN competition in the world.

They will be competing with teams from all over the world, including Cairo, Egypt and countries from Latin America.

Although the national competition will be held virtually and they wish they could be there, that doesn’t take away what Christiansen enjoys most about the competition.

“I love getting to work with everyone,” she said. “We are an incredibly diverse group of students, all coming together around a shared common interest and goal.”