Dear Delegates,

You probably are expecting me to start this letter like every other Secretary-General out there, my “first embarrassing MUN”, and the inspirational speech about improvement. Sorry to disappoint. I was the twelve-year-old thrown into a senior Counter-Terrorism Committee as the Delegate of Afghanistan (hilarious allocation for a first timer). I had no geopolitical nuance, but I did have a dangerous amount of impromptu confidence, the kind generously diagnosed as “delusional” by quite a few. By some miracle I walked out with Best Delegate , absolutely certain I can only go up from here.

Looking back, I still don’t know whether I earned it or whether no one had the energy to tell a hyper child to sit down, but that gavel flipped a switch. Suddenly, MUN became my home. Where I could quite literally switch into the version of me that reads every single detail and strategizes like it's personal. On a side note, If you’ve never seen me at a MUN, then you’ve blissfully unaware of my second, and famously “intense” personality. Since then, I’ve lost miserably, won gloriously, debated on no sleep, rewritten working papers at 3 am and made friends who make the Bangalore circuit worth every bruise. And all those pieces led to this moment.

TISBMUN’s first-ever female Secretary-General.
Its first STEM Secretary-General.

And, true to form, someone who dreams a little too loudly and plans a little too ambitiously. Because here’s what you might already know: TISBMUN isn’t just a conference, it’s a legacy which has been passed down as one of India’s most prestigious and oldest conferences each year. I’ve watched Secretary-Generals command these halls and thought, “Just wait. I’ll do it bigger.” Well… it’s bigger this year.

As a STEM kid, I’ve always believed that science doesn’t thrive in silence. Science needs debate, defense, maybe even a pitch deck. MUN taught me that ideas matter only if you can get a room to care. So, as you enter your committees this year: Don’t just speak with a prepared write-up, experiment. Don’t just participate, leave a mark that your future competitors remember. Whether this is your first shaky moderated caucus or your annual attempt to claim (or reclaim) the Illuminati Best Delegate, TISBMUN XXV has space for every kind of narrative. I cannot wait to see all of you on December 13th. To watch the speeches, the chaos, the firsts, and the occasional crash-and-burn that makes a delegate stronger than any award ever could.

You’re being led this year by
a poet who writes between research papers,
a singer who opens the conference in formal attire and sprints for an outfit change before performing,
an F1 fan as well, which is exactly why we built a committee fast enough to justify this line (You’re welcome.)

Signing off (for now),
Veruschka Pandey,
Secretary-General
TISBMUN XXV