Senior Bryan (Tai) Pham has been awarded his second consecutive Best Delegate in a Special Role award by fellow students at EuroSim 2025 for his role as chair of the EU Environmental Council. This year’s program focused on the European Green Deal and negotiating legislation aimed at reducing microplastic pollution.
EuroSim 2025 took place Jan 2–5, hosted by the University of Antwerp and organized by a consortium of roughly two dozen U.S. and European universities, including Colgate. Each year, EuroSim brings together about 150 students from these universities to debate proposed laws in simulations of the European Union legislative process.
Pham is the only Colgate student to win this honor more than once, and only three other Colgate students out of the approximately 100 who have participated in the program have been recognized with a Best Delegate award: Tommy Vlattas ’21, Shameer Zahid ’18, and Andrew Eldredge ’11.
Associate Professor of Political Science Ed Fogarty, who has served as the adviser for Colgate’s EuroSim program for the past 15 years, said Pham’s combination of confidence and charisma helped him stand out in his role, and earned him the award, which recognizes the students who are the most effective within their particular council or committee.
“That council can often be contentious because there are a wide range of views and interests," Fogarty says. “Tai was able to maintain control of meetings and guide the delegates to a set of compromises, which is probably what got him his fellow students’ support.”
Awards are voted on by the approximately 150 U.S. and European student participants, and nearly all of the awards go to European students, whose studies focus on the European Union — making Pham’s second award such an impressive feat. Pham, who is majoring in East Asian Studies with a concentration on China and double-minoring in Chinese and International Relations, has been a part of Colgate’s EuroSim delegation three times, beginning in his first year.
Tasked with guiding his peers through the program’s agenda, Pham notes the role was especially challenging since everyone on the council was highly knowledgeable about the inner workings of the European Union. To prepare, he dedicated significant time to research — including studying for his role as Paulina Henna-Kloska, the chair of the EU Environmental Council — and he worked to become thoroughly familiar with the program.
“Fortunately, the parliamentary procedures came more naturally to me, thanks to my experience in speaking competitions with Colgate Model United Nations since my first year,” Pham says. “The outcome exceeded my expectations, as my council and I successfully negotiated almost every amendment we aimed to include in the resolution. It was a delicate balance between policy-making and strategic politicking with other delegates. The experience was incredibly rewarding and remains one of the most memorable moments of my academic journey.”
Pham plans to continue his Mandarin studies in China for a few years before directly entering the Foreign Service. “EuroSIM has truly solidified my dream of pursuing a career in public diplomacy, particularly with the State Department, where I aim to advance America’s policies abroad,” he says.
EuroSim participation is free for all students on the Colgate delegation thanks to funding from the Department of Political Science and the International Relations Program, with additional support from the Rakin Foundation, the Center for Freedom and Western Civilization, the Lampert Institute for Civic and Global Affairs, and the Office for Undergraduate Research. In addition to Pham, the following students also participated in the EuroSim 2025 Colgate delegation and played the roles of representatives from Poland and Czechia: Boen Beavers ’26, Jaquelin Guevara ’26, Allie Kavalauskas ’26, Simon, Khairallah ’25, Sarah Kinnard ’26, Drew Klauber ’27, Alba Martínez Angoitia ’25, Emma McCartan ’26, and Tucker McPartlin ’27.