Meet our Secretariat!

Nilai is a sophomore from Memphis, TN who is double majoring in Physics and Biology. In high school, he was the Secretary-General of his school’s one-day conference and head delegate of the travel team. He was a delegate at VUMUN in high school and was a Crisis Director for the Impeachment of Bill Clinton committee during VUMUN XV. Last year, he served as Director of Technology for VUMUN XVI. Nilai was just the head of training of the Vanderbilt MUN Travel Team before becoming Secretary-General of VUMUN XVII. On campus, he volunteers for Vanderbilt Student Volunteers for Science and the Vanderbilt University Hospital. Additionally, he works in a biophysics lab as a research assistant. In his free time, he likes exploring Nashville, hanging out with friends, and trying new food. Nilai is super excited for VUMUN XVII!

Mariam Nadi is a sophomore from Princeton, New Jersey double majoring in Philosophy and Political Science with a concentration in Theory and International Politics and a minor in Art. In high school, she helped lead her schools MUN and Junior State of America’s one day conferences while serving as a Director of Fundraising and Chief of staff respectively. Her Freshman year of college she worked on a Crisis committee for multiple different crisis rooms during Philadelphia MUN conference  and chaired a House Oversight Committee for Model Congress. Her past Sophomore year, she was a Crisis Directorfor the Standing Rock Committee at VUMUN XVI.Currently, she is on Vanderbilts Model UN Travel team and does research on the correlation between gender and emotional appeal in leadership. In her free time, Mariam enjoys talking, laughing, drawing, sleeping, and practicing Taekwondo.

Arjun Bansal is a Senior (woah) from New Delhi, India (but he grew up in Jakarta, Indonesia) who is majoring in Chemical Engineering and Mathematics. He was a co-chair in the Roman Senate at VUMUN XIV, Under-Secretary General of GA’s in VUMUN XV, the Director of Logistics at VUMUN XVI and is looking forward to coming back to his 3rd time as VUMUN Secretariat as the Director of Logistics for VUMUN XVII. While he isn’t dying from a work overload, Arjun is a Residential Adviser at Warren and Moore College, he enjoys binging on everything from good food to books to TV shows and likes to play board games. He is the President of the Vanderbilt Mathematics Club and works in a computational Chemical Engineering lab as a Research Assistant. He is extremely excited to be a part of VUMUN XVI and cannot wait to share his love for MUN with all participants. And yes he copied this blurb from last year.

Anna is a junior from Clarksburg, MD studying Human and Organizational Development and minoring in Business. She was a Crisis Director for VUMUN XV and Chief of Staff for VUMUN XVI; this is her second year in the position and she is thrilled to be returning to the Secretariat family! Outside of VUMUN, Anna competes on the Vanderbilt Model United Nations team, serves as Director of Programming for Vanderbilt International Relations Association, and is a member of Students Promoting Environmental Awareness and Responsibility. In her free time, Anna enjoys exploring the Nashville food scene with her friends, organizing picnics in the quad with her roommates, writing speculative fiction works, and spending an unhealthy amount of time watching Grey’s Anatomy and The Office. Anna cannot wait to work with all the amazing staff members of VUMUN and watch another amazing conference unfold! 

Brandon is a freshman from Seoul, South Korea (but went to high school in Minnesota!) double majoring in Human and Organizational Development and Sociology with minors in Women’s and Gender Studies and French. In high school, he founded and served as Secretary-General of one of the biggest MUN conferences in South Korea. He was also a president and founder of his MUN team in America and attended conferences locally and at the University of Chicago. At Vanderbilt, he is heavily involved in identity-based organizations such as Korean Undergraduate Student Association and Vanderbilt Asian Pre-Professional Society. He also loves traveling the world, learning different languages, getting “package arrival notification,” and ordering extravagant drinks at Starbucks. As a former co-chair of WHO at VUMUN XVI, he is so thrilled to continue his passion for international diplomacy and work with amazing staffers and delegates at VUMUN XVII. 

Ved Mehta is a sophomore from Bourbonnais, IL who is majoring in Medicine, Health and Society and Psychology. He has been a part of Model UN since high school, participating in several conferences and serving on the team executive board. Last year, he was a JCC Chair for VUMUN XVI. At Vanderbilt, Ved is the Scheduling Director for the Vanderbilt Emergency Medical Society and volunteers as a licensed EMR. He enjoys playing guitar and spending time outside in Nashville.