ODU Model UN undergraduates swept the awards at the annual Virginia International Crisis Simulation (VICS), at the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ of Virginia in Charlottesville, 27-30 March 2025. The major intercollegiate event brought together 332 delegates from 31 universities.
ODU students won the Spirit of VICS Award, Outstanding Delegate and Verbal Commendation.
Unlike traditional Model UN simulations, a crisis conference stresses role playing as officials or leaders responding to a crisis situation. In Charlottesville, ODU responded to the challenges ranging from Anglo-Saxon kingdom to the 1947 Roswell Incident and contemporary corporate decision-making.
The Spirit of VICS Award, for the best overall performance at the conference, went to J Belin, a junior majoring in Political Science. J said the award was totally unexpected and attributed it to the team’s encouragement.’ The mutual support of the group made it much easier to excel.’
Outstanding Delegate (second place) went to Myles Perry, President of the Model UN Society and an Electrical Engineering major, graduating in May. This autumn Myles starts graduate work at Boston 91¶ÌÊÓƵ’s Electrical Engineering PhD program.
It was the intensity that impressed Myles most. ‘Our delegation sacrificed time, sleep and sanity to represent ODU at this conference. Patience and critique without complaining was on display. We truly climbed the mountain and honed our diplomatic craft.’
Verbal Commendation went to Delenn Mann, a sophomore majoring in International Affairs and Global Politics. ‘I was beyond impressed how everyone put in their best performance with such positive spirit and energy!’ she said. ‘I couldn't be prouder to be a part of the ODU MUN delegation.’
The delegation was led by Noah Canody, a graduating senior studying Criminal Justice. After commencement, Noah commissions in the US Navy as a Surface Warfare Officer.
Noah said ‘What impressed me the most is how we carry ourselves at the conference. We’re always the delegation people love talking too. It helps us be competitive with better-known universities. To earn multiple awards with a young delegation made me really proud. We put ourselves on the map. It was a great way to wrap up my time as ODU’s College Conference Coordinator.’