The College of the Canyons Model United Nations (COCMUN) team was listed within the top 50 teams in the country, and the highest ranked community college nationwide.

For five semesters in a row, the COCMUN was named in the top 50 teams alongside some of the most prestigious schools in the country including Yale and Cornell University, according to Best Delegate.

“It is not only about the success for the program, but it is also about the personal growth in the students,” said Dr. Phil Gussin, advisor for the team. “They are able to go up against these major universities and not only compete — but strive.”

Model United Nations, also known as Model UN or MUN, is an extracurricular activity in which students typically role-play delegates to the United Nations and simulate UN committees.

Delegates need to meet all of this criteria while being diplomatic and staying true to their respective country’s position.

See Related: COC Model United Nations Team Named Top 50 In The Country

The team broke into the top 75 in 2014, and has since climbed to the top 50 teams in North America.

“We have been able to hold our own and that is in part the support we have from the college,” said Gussin. “None of this would have been possible without the support from the chancellor, Dr. Van Hook, and the political science department.”

Alumni of the COCMUN team have gone onto George Washington University, UC Berkeley, Cornell University, among others.

“Some people think less of community college students, but Model UN shows that these students are not only as good as others at universities, but some of them are even better,” said Gussin.

The MUN team competed in three conferences in the fall semester.

The first, SoCalMUN, was hosted by Irvine Valley College. This was used to train for the major conference hosted by USC called TrojanMUN.

The team was also able to compete in a conference hosted by UC Santa Barbara, SBIMUN.

In the future, the College of the Canyons Model UN club is also expected to host their own conference for the spring semester in May.

For more information on the College of the Canyons Model United Nations team visit their Facebook page here.

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