Wyverns Net Awards At Yale Model U.N.

At the recent Yale Model U.N. two Kingswood Oxford students won awards: Chaitanya Karanam ’21 won Outstanding Delegate in Technological Future, and Spencer Schaller ’20 won Best Delegate in International Court of Justice (ICJ). 

Model U.N. advisor Stacey Savin said, “What a wonderful showing for KO, keeping up our record of winning awards every year for the last 18 years. We are so proud of them! All the students were tremendous, not just in the work they put in for their committees, but in how they conducted themselves at Yale.”

This is Karanam’s second year attending Model U.N. He said he enjoys the social aspect of meeting new people and making new friends and dealing with serious topics. He served on a special committee representing the United States in a futuristic setting in the year 2045, solving problems of drone warfare. After Russia “invaded” Wall Street, Karanam attempted to have Russia tried in an international court of law due to their aggression. He established China as an ally and convinced them that the U.S. was a strong trade partner. Diplomatic conversations broke down and Russia launched four missiles directed at Los Angeles; the United States retaliated with launching over 200 missiles at Russia. Although this was an alarming outcome, Karanam said the exercise was all in good spirit. “I urge anyone to join Model U.N. We are losing a lot of seniors this year, and the event is really a lot of fun!”

Schaller, also his second year in attending model UN.  served on the International Court of Justice, the governing body that decides major cases in the Hague, which runs more like court proceedings. He, too, represented the United States. “They [the organizers] consciously select difficult cases that haven’t been decided in real life. They try to make it so that the kids have a difficult time. If you knew what to defend or what to argue already, it wouldn’t be as insightful or as much as a learning opportunity,” he said. Although Schaller acknowledged that the U.S. position was in an uphill battle, he thought the experience was worthwhile. “What makes it so fun is that you’re taking something that has so many years of history and a situation that has challenged some of the world’s major thinkers to figure out,” he said. Schaller hopes to marry his passion for medicine and healthcare and his resurgent interest in international relations by one day working in the U.S. government dealing with global pandemics, the WHO legislation.

Thoughtful and deliberate, these two Wyverns will prove to be formidable thought leaders in the future.