Of the 24 University of Miami students at the National Model United Nations (NMUN) conference in New York City, some faced the added challenge of defending a government from which their families fled. Representing the Republic of Cuba, the UM delegation competed against more than 2,500 students from 181 institutions and 65 nations to win five major awards: first place for Outstanding Delegation and Outstanding Position Paper and three Best Committee Awards.

“You gain points on how realistically you represent your country and how successful you are in getting people to form a consensus,” explains Patricia Mazzei, A.B., B.B.A. ’07, a first-generation Cuban-American who served as a head delegate with Nitin Aggarwal, A.B., B.S. ’07. “Some countries were hesitant to work with us because Cuba isn’t in the Organization of American States.”

Cuba was among a list of preferences the UM team submitted to NMUN organizers. “I don’t think it was a coincidence that they gave us Cuba. I wholeheartedly believe they wanted to throw us a curve and see what we were capable of doing,” says Cristina Florez, NMUN team and club advisor, whose father used to be a UN freelance interpreter. She’s also a native of Cuba. “The resolutions students form actually reach the ears of real UN diplomats.”

Patricia Abril, assistant professor of business law and UM team faculty advisor, and academicians at the University’s Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies helped prepare the students for the competition.