Five Long Trail School students attended the Middlebury Model United Nations Conference on December 12 and brought home four awards based on their performance. This was the first Model UN conference experience for these students; they did an amazing job representing Long Trail alongside nine other Vermont high schools.
Junior Lydia Quevedo, representing Uganda on the Committee on Water Rights and Sustainability in the Middle East, won an award for best position paper for her committee. Junior Tony Wang, representing Cyprus, won best position paper for his committee and also received honorable mention for his work. For his representation of Bahrain on the Special Political Committee on Jerusalem, senior Hunter Campbell was awarded an honorable mention. The group was rounded out by the fine involvement of sophomore Will McCullough as the mayor of Jerusalem and junior Evan Crumb representing North Korea on the Security Council on the Maritime Crisis in Southeast Asia.
Model UN adviser and Social Studies chair Tess Kahn notes, “Model UN provides the opportunity for students to consider important contemporary issues. Not only does it foster leadership, teamwork and critical thinking skills but it creates an environment where students can demonstrate ownership of their knowledge through passionate debate.” Long Trail is pleased to once again offer opportunities for its students to participate in Model UN conferences.