Just prior to the COVID-19 shutdown, the BYU Model EU Team, Maxwell Collins, Reagan Curtis, Amanda Gach, Hailey Hannigan, and Annie Ackerman, represented Bulgaria, Latvia, and Poland at the European Council simulation hosted by the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle. Model EU students hone their research, public speaking, negotiation, and other diplomatic skills. Cristiana Farnsworth and Aidan Houston served as teaching assistants. Western U.S. teams negotiated two topics: climate change and labor/commerce.
According to Curtis, “We worked on migration issues and environmental solutions among other things, and frankly, we had the time of our lives in Seattle!” Similarly, Farnsworth described this year as “especially rewarding to see our team members apply the extensive research and skills they’d learned throughout the course.” Faculty advisor Liz Jevtic-Somlai related the unique circumstances of the conference, including the opportunity to honor the late Wade Jacoby, who initiated BYU’s involvement in Model EU. “At the end of the conference,” she said, “we took a moment to honor him and everything he did for so many students.” The two-day conference concluded with BYU receiving two outstanding position paper awards, as well as an outstanding delegate and an honorable mention delegate.