This year, Trinity Hall took 38 girls to the prestigious YMCA Model United Nations Conference in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Student leaders Taleen McOmber ’26, Maren Vaclavik ’26 and Grace Smith ’27 have been preparing the Trinity Hall delegation since the beginning of the school year for the highly anticipated conference in January.
Leading up to the conference, each girl received a country and committee to research. The delegation also learned essential writing and public speaking skills through the help of their club leaders to prepare for this event. Their preparation and confidence shined through, as the delegation found great success at the conference.
Smith gave her insights on the 2026 Model UN conference: “It was my first time leading the club and I couldn’t have asked for a better group. Everyone worked so hard, and our research and energy we brought to the conference was great this year.”
Additionally, Taleen McOmber was elected chair of the Historical Security Council Committee, playing a major role in the leadership at this year's conference. Not only did she lead the Trinity Hall delegation to many awards and success, but she also helped lead over 2,000 students in debate as chairwoman. She worked in the planning of the conference and committee throughout the span of a year. Even though McOmber will be stepping down from this major role, Katherine Yehl ‘27 has been elected for Security Council Chair at next year's YMCA conference. Her hard work and dedication was acknowledged by her committee and they elected her as chair.
McOmber gave her further takeaways from the conference: “Model UN challenged me to look beyond my own experiences and advocate for thoughtful solutions to global inequities. Co-leading the program for two years has allowed me to share this mission with others, and I am confident that our delegates’ successes are only just beginning.”
Multiple awards were given out to the members of the Trinity Hall delegation for their debate skills and thorough preparation for the conference. Notably, the Trinity Hall delegation was recognized as an Outstanding Delegation for 2026. Smith was chosen as one of a select group of students invited to attend the Conference of National Affairs (CONA) this summer. Bianca Scardino ’28 earned the award for the best research paper. Lastly, Anica Amato ’29 and Taylor Grise ’29 were named Premier First-Year Delegates.
Congratulations to all of the Model UN delegates this year on these amazing achievements. The community is very excited to see all that you accomplish next year!