Wyckoff Student Delegates Take Home Trove Of Awards From UN Conference

WYCKOFF, NJ — Wyckoff student ambassadors to an international conference brought home several awards and accolades.

Eisenhower Middle School students received awards at the second annual Altitude Model United Nations conference held a few weeks ago in New York City. Students competed against teams from Ghana, Germany, Turkey and all across the U.S., Wyckoff Schools Superintendent Kerry Postma said.

Model UN is a simulation of the UN General Assembly, where students act as ambassadors from UN member state to debate issues, give speeches, draft resolutions, negotiate terms, and resolve conflicts, the superintendent said.

Here is a list of awards and EMS award recipients, and the committees they were present on:

1. Secretary General Award: Julia Coppo, Grade 8: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
2. Diplomacy Award: Connor Davis & Kevin Renner (both in Grade 7): International Telecommunication Union; Finn McCarthy (Grade 8): United Nations Environment Programme
3. Best Position Paper Award: Samantha Venn & Olivia Ki (both in Grade 8): General Assembly 3 (Social, Humanitarian, & Social Committee)
4. Best Improvement Award: Jacob Preziosi & Justin Madigan (both in Grade 8): General Assembly 3 (Social, Humanitarian, & Social Committee)

At last year's Altitude Model UN Conference, several student "delegates" placed in the same award categories, the school said in a release.

Some of this year's awardees — including Coppo, Renner, McCarthy and Ki — were also recognized for their work researching and debating safe water access and nuclear disarmament in a separate Model UN conference in November, Patch reported.

"(These students) engage in critical thinking and public speaking that are well beyond what is typical of their age group," Superintendent Postma said of the local chapter members in that report.