Skip Navigation

Texas A&M at Qatar students win awards at inaugural GQMUN

Published Nov 19, 2023

Several students from Texas A&M at Qatar won awards at the Georgetown University Qatar Model United Nations (GQMUN) Conference that recently took place.

A Model United Conference is a simulation of the United Nations during which students play the role of delegates of member states. Delegates debate and discuss to come up with resolutions to address certain issues in their committees.

Aggies participating in the event were Rhee Jeremiah Costan ’27, Laila Al Koutob ’27, Alghala Abdulrahman Al-Dehaimi ’27, Mohamed Ahmed Bakri Mohamed ’26, Dana Abou Hassanain ’26, Marilyn Bou Jaoude ’26, Yousuf Darwish ’24, Fayez Al Fakih ’24, Muhammad Saad ’24 and Ushara De Silva ’24.

During the event, Costan — the Egypt delegate in UNESCO — and Saad —the China delegate in the Commission for the Status of Women — won awards for Outstanding Diplomacy. Mohamed was the UNESCO Colombia delegate and received an honorable mention.

The students said that participating in GQMUN was an enriching experience.

"Being immersed in a diverse international community at TAMUQ has helped prepare me for MUN,” Costan said. “As an Aggie, I have learned to understand the perspectives of other people from different cultures and gain diplomatic skills from these experiences.”

De Silva said, “As a delegate, I experienced what the United Nations really means: representing your country's policy and stance on various topics. I felt what it means to be diplomatic with other countries, whilst maintaining a separate individual opinion of such situations. I've met a lot of new friends, from different cultures, and learned a lot about public speaking."