Three undergraduate Washington State University students traveled to Geneva, Switzerland, last month to take part in the Global Model WHO 2025 conference. For four days at the World Health Organization headquarters, the trio joined more than 400 high school and college student delegates from approximately 40 countries in a series of simulations focused on diplomacy and consensus building.
The WSU students who participated were Bhargav Iyer, a senior biology major from WSU Pullman; Zoe Pfeifer, a senior biology major from WSU Tri-Cities; and Romeo Ross, a sophomore social sciences major from WSU Tri-Cities. Anna Plemons, associate vice chancellor for academic and student affairs for WSU Tri-Cities, also traveled as the group’s faculty advisor. The trip was partially funded thanks to a donor contribution to the WSU Tri-Cities Dynamic Student Engagement Fund, as well as the Phil and June Lighty Student Leadership Development Fund.
Like a Model United Nations summit, in which each student takes on the role of ambassador for a UN nation, the Global Model WHO conference had student delegates serving as mock representatives for a WHO member country. Daily simulation sessions were divided across six committees, each tackling a different global health topic. All three WSU delegates took part in the committee titled “Equity and Integration to Prevent and Control Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs).”
Student delegates served as mock representatives for WHO member countries — familiarizing themselves with their countries, writing position papers, and participating in dialogue and debate.
“Before arriving, we had to write a position paper,” said Pfeifer, who represented the Philippines. “It required intensive research to figure out your positions, find the rates of diseases, or NCDs, and just familiarize yourself with your country.”
Through several rounds of dialogue and debate, students advocated for draft resolution language changes that would best advance the policy needs of their respective nations. While some portions of the simulations had students negotiating with one another in smaller regional groups, other segments were dedicated to open-forum discussion, in which any delegate was free to raise their country flag to make a statement.
“As soon as you press the mic, there are multiple cameras around the room and it all pans on you,” said Ross, who represented the Dominican Republic and also served as a plenary speaker at the conference. “I definitely improved in my public speaking and the nerves I had prior to that.”
At the end of the conference, Iyer received a diplomacy award for exemplary representation on behalf of his assigned country, Panama.
“I’m incredibly grateful to receive this award and am proud to represent WSU in this international space,” Iyer said. “My biggest takeaway from this trip was reassurance in the fact that we can solve so many pressing issues by coming together and working on them. Intentional collaboration and effective communication are key pillars to passing meaningful policy, and despite the many cultural and linguistic barriers, I was impressed with the work that students did at this conference.”
