Florida High’s Model UN team recently attended conferences at Georgia Tech and the University of South Florida, competing against schools from across the Southeast.

At the conferences, students participated in simulations that required delegates to represent countries and debate historical and global issues. Florida High’s team represented France, focusing on issues surrounding the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon.

“A lot about religion at the time, like whether or not France would become a catholic country or just a Christian country in general. There was a lot of discussion about whether to follow the pope, or whether to follow Napoleon. Whether there was divine right to the throne, or if the throne could be taken from Napoleon by conquering. What was to be done about him in general because he was gaining too much power too quickly, and just a lot about Napoleon,” senior Judson Vickery said.

For Vickery, one of the most exciting parts of the Georgia Tech conference was the opportunity to pursue creative strategies within the simulation.

“The freedom to do whatever you want. I was doing a story arc that would have me create a bunch of wax music, basically vinyls in the French Revolution, and it ended up working and I made a lot of money off of it,” Vickery said.

Several Florida High delegates were recognized for their performances at the conference.

“Javen won best delegate for his Pokémon committee. I know Zoey won, I think, outstanding delegate, and her press corps committee, which is very similar to journalism at the conference. They have a topic they have to stick to and interview different delegates on different things. Adeline and Olivia won outstanding delegates for their committee. Bryce won honorable mention; he was Keir Starmer in the British Parliament,” Vickery said.

The team’s strong showing at both conferences highlighted Florida High’s success in Model UN, with multiple delegates earning awards and gaining valuable experience in debate, collaboration and problem-solving.