Letter From The Secretary General

Delegates, advisors, and CSMUN XVI staff,

I hope you’re doing well! My name is Rebecca Philip, and it is my distinct honor to introduce myself as your Secretary General of CSMUN XVI and Logistics for the 2025-2026 school year. I’d like to open this letter – and this conference – by sharing a piece of myself that I hope will resonate with you all. 

I find great comfort in the structure of life. Truth is, there are formulas everywhere. We tie our shoelaces. We recognize the arc of a novel. Even in our very steps, we are conditioned to practice a formula that keeps us upright- the still balance of rhythm and motion that our bodies repeat without conscious thought. In a world accompanied by pure mayhem, we are anchored by structure, and I truly believe that these subtle formulas unequivocally shape our lives every day.

Given this, I’m sure you can understand my sheer frustration when the simple strategies and formulas that proved successful for others left me in the dust at my first Model UN conference. Naively, I glorified a checklist and stuck with it. 

Ask questions.

Use sophisticated vocabulary.

Be the loudest in the room.

For the first time, the structure and predictability that I had so closely idolized throughout my life served no purpose in the arena where adaptability outweighed precision. I found myself quietly suspended in the realm between imitation and authenticity, tracing the footsteps of those who never walked like myself. So I attempted what felt unnatural: I let go of the formula. I stopped clinging to what worked for other delegates, and I began listening for the raw sincerity that success is made of. I made the uncomfortable decision to stutter in the vibrancy of my own voice rather than be fluent in the stolen cadence of someone else’s.

The purpose of this letter is not to reject the formula. Instead, I invite you to lean into your own nuance to write your own. Although CSMUN is one of the first conferences of the year for many, it shares a glowing attribute with what will be your last conference, and all in between. It was never about perfection. Just discovery. The beauty of Model UN – and of life – is that it pushes us to manufacture our own unique wheel in a society that insists we need not reinvent it at all.

Even in this very letter, there is a formula I am expected to follow: conflict, lesson, resolution. Today, I challenge this structure. Not out of defiance, but out of honesty. This lesson fails to resolve itself in the span of one story. I don’t have a resolution yet, as I struggle to let go of structure. In a way, that terrifies me. Without a sound resolution, there is nothing to cling to. This story lacks a grand unveiling that makes the struggle worth it. And yet, that’s what makes it real. The truth is, the majority of our growth seldom ends with a standing ovation or a neat sense of closure. Instead, we slowly build up from the grounds of what failed us, to create a narrative that we can wholly call our own. 

Rather than a resolution, I leave you with this instead: The formulas around us are comfortable, they are safe. But they are also monotonous. And growth rarely comes from repetition. 

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns about our conference, using my email, 260358@d230.org. I am beyond excited to witness the authentic formula that each of you will bring on October 18th! Welcome to CSMUN XVI.

Warm Regards,

Rebecca Philip