On Saturday, February 17, students from Leonardtown High School returned from a three day Model United Nations Conference held in Norfolk, Virginia. The Model UN conferences are for students from schools in different parts of the country (as well as internationally) to participate in. The students act as delegates, representing a country in the United Nations and working to solve numerous world problems.
Out of the 32 Leonardtown students that participated, 23 came home with awards, including verbal recognitions, honorable mentions, outstanding delegate, and, most importantly, the Secretary General’s Award for outstanding delegation as the United States. “This is our fourth time winning the best delegation award and we are the only school in Maryland to have won it,” said global diplomacy teacher, Michael Denny.
The students returned with positive remarks by the teachers that accompanied them. “I wouldn’t go if I didn’t feel like the students couldn’t represent our school and our community in a positive fashion,” Denny told The Bay Net. “And they do year in year out.”
Over 700 students descended upon the conference from about 40 different schools around the country. Students are assigned to certain UN committees, with each committee dealing with different world issues, from furthering women’s rights in the world or eradicating poverty. Denny and his students have been to this MUN conference a total of 21 times, held under the direction of the students and staff at Old Dominion University.
According to students, this conference was a fun, learning experience. “Model UN is awesome,” said senior, Jennifer Belcher. “It was something I really wanted to do and it had to do with what I want to do with my career, which is to work for the UN.”
“It’s a good experience and I might want to go into international affairs as a minor in college,” said Katrina King, senior at LHS. “It was good to meet new people.”
Model United Nations is a good experience for the students because it improves so many skills such as public speaking, teamwork, leadership, and writing, according to Denny. “It really shows initiative beyond the classroom.”
