Talawanda High students bring back Model UN, debate club after hiatus

Talawanda High School students have revived two clubs that teach public speaking and rhetoric after being on hiatus for several years.

Model UN

The high school’s Model UN team, which simulates diplomatic discussion between nations on real-world topics, took a break in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, social studies teacher and Model UN advisor Kyle McGhehey said. But prior to that, he said the team was “fairly active.”

Five years later, students chose to revive the team. 

McGhehey said of the students making an effort to bring back the team, “It was pretty cool.”

“In years past, there’s been some inklings of bringing it back, but it was really difficult to do,” McGhehey said. “I don’t want to overstate how difficult it was for these three (students) to bring it back up. They had to go talk with administration and seek approval … and they got it done.”

Olivia McDownd, 17, is a senior at Talawanda High and the president of the newly revived club. According to her, she wanted to bring back Model UN because she wants to study international relations and thought it would be a “great opportunity” to learn more about a career in the field while adding to her resumé.

“I learned a lot about countries that I hadn’t really even heard of or know a whole lot about. And so it was really nice to gain that experience,” she said of being on the team.

McDownd said she also learned more about economics, how cultures and religions influence international relations, and practical skills, like how to do research and speak in front of large crowds.

Students in the club meet once a week to discuss research and resolutions they’ve written throughout the week. All of their work is in preparation for the state’s Model UN Conference at the end of the year.

According to McGhehey, Talawanda’s Model UN was the only high school team from Butler County to attend the Ohio Model UN Conference during the first weekend of December.

“Since this was our first year, we weren’t very sure of what was going to happen once we got to the conference,” McDownd said, adding she felt her team adjusted well.

The 13 members of the team were divided between representing the nations of Uzbekistan and Mongolia. McDownd said the resolution submitted by the team representing Uzbekistan passed – one of 35 that passed of 161 resolutions total.

The team began preparing for the conference in the spring of last year and spent the year looking forward to the event in Columbus.

McDownd said of the competition, “It was also really nice just to work with other students.” 

“While we were doing this, it made us feel very important, very smart,” McDownd said. “So that was a great feeling to have. We just like knowing that this is what adults are doing. This is what we have the opportunity to go into.”

Ellie Shoker, 17, is a senior and vice president of the team. She said she’s enjoyed pulling her classmates together to prepare for the conference, and learning how to research and organize group work was helpful for her.

Katelyn Bulanda, 17, is a senior and the treasurer for the team. She said of the conference, “I think that the coolest part of the experience was just how immersive it was.”

“It gave us a chance to really get to explore and present the research we had collected and then interact with other students from across the state,” Bulanda said.

Debate

Talawanda High’s debate club is also back after a hiatus, according to debate club advisor and English teacher Raymond Engle.

Engle said he is unsure how long it has been since the school last had a debate club, but he was approached by two students last year who asked about reviving it.

In fall 2025, they got to work, preparing their speaking skills while learning rhetoric and rebuttal in anticipation of possibly competing in 2026. There are currently six to eight students attending each club meeting, but Engle said the club’s hope is to reach at least a dozen students.

According to the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) website, there aren’t currently any high school debate teams in Butler County registered with the organization. There also aren’t any high school teams in Butler County registered with the National Catholic Forensics League (NCFL), another major high school debate league, according to the organization’s online directory.

Engle said of why he feels having a debate club is good for students, “We’re starting to … as a society, kind of get away from debate.”

“We focus on argumentation now and arguing with one another based just on our feelings,” Engle said. “So this forces students to not only have a passion on the topic and their view on the topic, but also to research that and be able to … communicate.”

Alexus Milligan, 16, is a junior and president of the debate club. She said she was inspired to bring back the club by in-depth conversations she was having with her friends about different topics they were interested in.

“I realized that there was material there to create something way beyond just us,” Milligan said.

Evie Jeong, 15, is a sophomore and vice president of the club. She said she wanted to be part of the club to gain media literacy and argumentation skills, as it’s “important for all fields.”

“Personally, (I’m) going into psychology, and communication is really important for me to understand this field,” Jeong said. “I think as we approach the real world and our current events, knowing how to express your opinions clearly has become a lot more important.”

Milligan said the club started practicing last school year, going over the foundations of an argument, including claims and evidence, and the basics of public speaking.

“We have a variety of topics that we go over, and honestly, it comes at just what our members are interested in talking (about) that day, or things that we come across online that seem to pique everybody’s interest,” she said, adding topics may range from philosophical prompts to economics, morals and politics.

The club’s meetings were advertised in the school news and at the club fair this school year, but mainly traveled via word-of-mouth. Before the students start competing, Milligan said they’re trying to focus on having fun activities where club members can practice their debating skills.

She said the club has been gaining advice from their English teachers, mentors at the local Oxford Lane Library and online resources like the NSDA to decide what they should be working on. Both students said they’ve gained a new perspective on how to lead other students in these topics, as well.

Milligan said, “Wherever you go in your life, it’s important to find your voice and to find the power to express an opinion. And whether that comes from this debate club or not, I think that’s what’s most valuable.”