Wednesday, Apr 30, 2025
Students take home Outstanding Delegation Award for 16th time, with sophomore Eden Nadella serving as head delegate
by Adam Grybowski
For the fourth year in a row Rider University’s Model United Nations team won the top prize at the National Model United Nations conference in April in New York City. The team has now won the competition’s Outstanding Delegation Award 16 of the last 22 years.
Rider’s team, which represented Pakistan, stood out among more than 200 participating colleges and universities from around the world, including King’s College London, the City University of New York and the University of New Hampshire.
The team also earned two Position Paper Awards — one for Adrienne Bishop, a sophomore psychology major representing Pakistan in the Commission on Population and Development, and another for Marina Jean-Baptiste, a junior psychology major representing Pakistan in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) committee. Nick Smith, sophomore political science major, won the Peer Award, for his role as the most influential individual delegate in his committee. While in New York, the students also had the opportunity to visit the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN and speak with the ambassador.
The victory was the culmination of an intensive process that began months before students stepped foot in New York. The student-led course begins in January and runs through April, but the work of the head delegate starts much earlier — in the summer, when tryouts begin.
At the helm of this year’s team was sophomore Eden Nadella, a political science major who helped earn the team a Position Paper Award when they joined the team last year. This year, Nadella worked closely with team members, assigning committees, providing feedback and fostering collaboration among delegates, many of whom were also juggling full course loads and extracurricular commitments.
“The night the awards dropped, we were waiting with bated breath,” Nadella says. “When we learned we won, I felt relief and joy. Knowing that I helped keep the winning streak going was incredibly gratifying, especially as a sophomore. I was choked up.”
Rider is a founding member of the Model UN competition and has attended every conference since 1967. During the event, students must negotiate and gain the cooperation of other student groups, each of whom is representing a different UN member state. Rider prepares students to succeed in the competition through coursework that involves writing position papers and practicing their presentation and public speaking skills.
“Overcoming many obstacles, the 2025 team coalesced to reach a high level of success at this year’s conference,” says Dr. Barbara Franz, professor of political science and the team’s faculty adviser. “Their growing friendships and ability to problem solve resulted in them becoming a cohesive unit that won the Outstanding Delegation award again, continuing the Rider MUN tradition of excellence.”
Last year, Nadella joined Model UN with little confidence in their public speaking skills but a strong desire to push themselves.
“I was incredibly nervous at first,” says Nadella, who also now serves as vice president of the Spectrum Pride Alliance and secretary of Rider Leftists, a recently launched student organization focused on progressive issues. “But I realized that the only way through was to rip the bandage off. The practice we get — the speeches, the critiques, the constant feedback — it all prepared me. When I was finally in front of 300 people at the conference, it felt like I was back in class.”
Nadella’s leadership journey has been shaped by a broader commitment to political engagement. A New Jersey native from Middlesex County, they first developed an interest in government during an AP Government class in high school. Since then, they’ve continued to focus on state and local politics, participating in internships with the New Jersey Assembly Majority Office and the office of Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, who is running for governor.