Walking into the Model United Nations at the University of Illinois (MUNI) conference, Secretary General J.P. Remijas ’17 tried to push the past out of his mind. After not attending the statewide conference for three years due to behavioral issues, LT was finally returning, with a new focus and strategy.

“Obviously, we hadn’t been back for three years. What had happened last time is in the past,” Remijas said. “The only thing I really had on my mind was winning. We won.”

The conference, which took place March 10-12, marked LTMUN’s first return to MUNI since 2014, when several LT students were disciplined for alleged underage drinking. Moving forward, MUN advisor Andrew Johannes said, was very important for the club.

“We just talk about how we are there for a job, and the job is to win the conference,” Johannes said. “The past is the past, and we’ve made some bad decisions there, but that doesn’t affect our present and our future.”

Out of the 16 committees at the conference, LT placed first in eight, and won several other individual awards. The team also earned the Best Delegation award for its achievements. One of the ways they were more focused and productive this conference was by taking fewer delegates, Johannes said.

“We took only 40 kids, so we really focused in on bringing people who were dedicated,” Johannes said. “We had people there who were hungry to win.”

This new, driven focus extended over the total team, Emma Doyle ’18 said.

“I wanted a unique idea to solve the higher education program in Illinois in my committee,” Doyle said. “I was in the Illinois General Assembly. Winning [an award] was truly an amazing moment for me. It was a thrill to have the club so proud of me.”

Moving forward, Johannes wants to develop a larger base in juniors and underclassmen in the club, including selecting new officers for the club.

“Hopefully we can find a leadership team like the one we had this year, that moved the team forward,” Johannes said.

MUN has two more conferences this year, including a weekend conference at Northwestern University on April 20-23.

“We technically ‘repeated’ at this conference [MUNI],” Remijas said. “Even though we hadn’t been there in three years, we won the last time we were there.”