Harold Washington College Students Earn National Recognition at Model UN Conference

For political science students, the National Model United Nations (NMUN) Conference is one of the most prestigious events of the year—and a group of Harold Washington College students recently returned from the event with national recognition.

In November 2025, Harold Washington’s Model UN Club, led by faculty advisor Ingrid Riedle, traveled to Washington, D.C., for the three-day conference that simulates the United Nations. This year, the team was selected to represent Egypt. Students served on different committees and, ahead of the conference, each submitted a position paper that addressed key global issues.

It was the second year that Marcos, a Harold Washington student studying political science, attended the event—and this time was even more memorable. Marcos and his peers spent three days negotiating policy solutions on a wide range of topics. Out of roughly 100 students in his committee, the International Atomic Energy Agency, only five were recognized for their position papers. Marcos and fellow HWC student Jacob were two of those five awardees.

“We were competing with students from top universities,” Marcos said. “Winning proved that community college students can hold our own.”

Before the conference, the Model UN Club visited the Consulate General of Egypt in Chicago to learn more about the country’s policies. Marcos also reached out to the Embassy of Egypt in D.C., arranging for the team to meet with diplomats before the conference began. Due to their research and preparation, the HWC Egypt delegation came away from the conference with an honorable mention—the only community college to earn that recognition.

For Marcos, the experience was both humbling and inspiring—symbolic of his experience at Harold Washington as a whole.

“Initially, I was only going to stay at the college for a year before transferring, but I fell in love with HWC because of the people here and all of the support they offer,” he said.

Marcos serves as vice president of the Student Government Association, works in the Admissions Office as a student ambassador, and is a Point Foundation Scholar. Set to graduate in May, he plans to transfer to a four-year university after that and is thinking about pursuing law school. His time in Model UN has made an impact, and he can’t wait to use the real-world skills he’s built in his future career.