Cutline: Alec Gilliland (far right), HPU freshman, was recently honored as a Distinguished Delegate and HPU’s MUN team was named the second-best team at the Northwest Model United Nations Conference. Pictured from left to right are Madison Tuck, William Koepp, Seth Becker, Sadie Willie and Alec Gilliland. 

Howard Payne University freshman Alec Gilliland of Midland was honored as a distinguished delegate at the Northwest Model United Nations (NWMUN) conference in Seattle. HPU’s Model United Nations team was also named the second-best team at the conference.

“I am so fortunate to be a part of such a great team of delegates at HPU who are dedicated to collaborating with their team and other delegates at the conference,” said Gilliland. “I am looking forward to seeing what our team will accomplish in future semesters.”

HPU’s delegation was led by Madison Tuck, a sophomore from Edgewood, New Mexico, majoring in the Guy D. Newman Honors Academy, criminal justice and psychology.

“Our team performed well, especially since they were all at their first conference – they were completely deserving of the distinguished delegate award,” said Tuck. “They came in well-researched, worked to their strengths during committee sessions and made sure their ideas were in the final resolutions that got passed.”

Other members of the team were William Koepp, a junior from Brownwood majoring in computer information systems; Sadie Willie, a freshman from Florence majoring in the Guy D. Newman Honors Academy and jurisprudence; and Seth Becker, a senior from Springtown majoring in the Guy D. Newman Honors Academy and business administration. Dr. Dave Claborn, HPU professor of government, serves as the team’s coach.

“We thought this would be the semester for Madison to get experience leading and for the rest of our team to get their feet wet as first-semester folks,” said Dr. Claborn. “We’d forgo any accolades and set ourselves up for future years, but I guess they just wouldn’t stay off the podium!”

The NWMUN is the premier Model United Nations conference in the Pacific Northwest. The 2021 conference hosted more than 150 students at the NWMUN conference, representing 11 other institutions.

Visit www.hputx.edu/mun or contact Dr. Claborn at [email protected] for more information about the HPU Model United Nations team.