From November 8th-10th, Texas State students participated in the 28th Annual Eugene Scassa Mock Organization of American States (ESMOAS) Competition at Baylor University. The competition was attended by 120 students representing schools throughout the region, including the University of Texas, Baylor University, Angelo State University, St. Mary’s University, and the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Texas State fielded a 30-member delegation that competed in ESMOAS’ Summit of Americas competition, representing the nations of Canada, Belize, Barbados, the Bahamas, Guyana, and Suriname. The team members were as follows.
- Bahamas: Sarah Benitz, Zach Walker, Braiden Touchette, and Emma Hopkins
- Barbados: Emily Hanna, Branden Henderson, Lily Alvarez, Allison Mccalla, and Em Boegel
- Belize: Preston Love, Mike Grubbs, Nolan Ruhland, and Thiago Rocha
- Canada: Ethan Guinn, Xhekli Duraj, Sofia Hernandez, Lucy Beaty, and Alazne Leon
- Guyana: Gabbie Lindsay, Maddie Gau, Carson Raatz, Gabriel Marquez, and Zack Estrada
- Suriname: Eris Andrews, Robert Mancha, Lillian Martinez, and Colm Graham
- Student officer group: Cadi Powers, Simon Kinski, and Jose Rios
Debating a host of topics, ranging from natural resource management to reinforcing territorial sovereignty to alleviate migration challenges, Texas State students were able to gain skills and experiences that will benefit their future endeavors. Capping the overall experience, political science major, Sofia Hernandez said, “The beneficial impact of participating in ESMOAS cannot be understated, not only as a student, but to one’s own personal development as well. Through collaborating with various students, each with their own unique perspectives, exercising political knowledge to its fullest application was a wonderful experience to witness. ESMOAS displayed that despite the various socio-economic and cultural differences that each country has, delegates act in the best interests of their citizens to ensure civil welfare, resulting in cooperation towards similar goals.”
Continuing their ongoing tradition, Texas State students won numerous awards. Highlights included Team Suriname winning Outstanding Delegation (the first-place team award at the Summit of the Americas competition), numerous students winning Outstanding Delegate, and Gabriel Marquez and Sofia Hernandez being selected as Chairmen for the 29th ESMOAS Competition.
In addition, Eris Andrews won the Outstanding Crisis Speech and the Outstanding Ambassador Award (the top individual award at the competition). Of her participation in the competition, Andrews, a senior political science major, commented, “The ESMOAS competition was a great experience and lesson in learning how to both represent and interact with different people and nations with varying values. It was so much fun to meet people from other schools and to work with them to discuss current affairs and represent Texas State. This competition provided me with the opportunity to grow my leadership skills and my teamwork abilities, and we ended up with a fantastic result.”
The complete list of the awards and honors received by Texas State students is as follows:
- Cadi Powers: Served as Secretary General of the 28th ESMOAS
- Simon Kinski: Served as Chair of the Executive Secretariat for Integral Development
- Jose Rios: Served as Rapporteur of the Executive Secretariat for Integral Development
- Lucy Beaty: Distinguished Resolution (2nd Place in Committee), Executive Secretariat for Integral Development
- Lillian Martinez: Outstanding Resolution (1st Place in Committee), Executive Secretariat for Integral Development
- Robert Mancha: Outstanding Resolution (1st Place in Committee), Secretariat for Multidimensional Security
- Branden Henderson: Recognized Delegate (3rd Place in Committee), Secretariat for Multidimensional Security
- Thiago Rocha: Distinguished Delegate (2nd Place in Committee), Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs
- Gabbie Lindsay: Distinguished Delegate (2nd Place in Committee), General Committee
- Colm Graham: Outstanding Delegate (1st Place in Committee), Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs
- Braiden Touchette: Outstanding Delegate (1st Place in Committee), Executive Secretariat for Integral Development
- Sofia Hernandez: Outstanding Delegate (1st Place in Committee), Secretariat for Multidimensional Security
- Eris Andrews: Outstanding Delegate (1st Place in Committee), General Committee
- Emily Hanna, Branden Henderson, Lily Alvarez, Allison Mccalla, Em Boegel (Team Barbados): Distinguished Position Paper (2nd Place Overall)
- Jose Rios: Outstanding Chair (1st Place Overall)
- Eris Andrews: Outstanding Crisis Speech (1st Place Overall), General Committee
- Eris Andrews: Outstanding Ambassador (1st Place Overall)
- Eris Andrews, Robert Mancha, Lillian Martinez, and Colm Graham (Team Suriname): Outstanding Delegation (1st Place Overall)
- Gabriel Marquez: Selected as a Chairman for the 29th ESMOAS competition
- Sofia Hernandez: Selected as a Chairman for the 29th ESMOAS competition
The Model Organization of American States (MOAS) is an academic organization through which students learn how the Organization of American States operates by competing in student debate competitions, such as the Eugene Scassa Mock Organization of American States. In MOAS, students study parliamentary debate, diplomacy and the economic, political, and security issues facing the Americas today. For additional information, see the organization’s webpage here or email Prof. Ben Arnold at ca17@txstate.edu.
