Submitted by Jenny Kopf FAIRHOPE — The St. Michael Catholic High School Model United Nations (UN) team competed in its first Arkansas Model UN Conference with prowess and poise on Nov. 17, winning 19 awards, including the second highest award.
The 34 St. Michael students were part of the more than 400 students from 26 high schools from Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, Missouri, and Texas competing in AMUN 2022 in Conway, Ark.
The St. Michael students were lead by Head Delegates Lauren Wood (Austria), John Traveis (Belgium), Madeline Pitre (Bolivia), Tradd McDaniel (Czech Republic), Margie Cowles (Denmark), Daniel Mitchell (Estonia), Jack Garrison (Greece), Justin Barfield (Lithuania), and Natalia Pyatt (Portugal). Head Delegates were chosen based on their position paper writing and their ability to serve as role models to their fellow St. Michael delegates and as resources to newer members.
After two days of committee sessions, the St. Michael team earned 19 awards during the closing ceremonies, the second most awards earned among all schools at the conference. St. Michael received seven of the twenty Best Position Paper Awards, more than any other school. St. Michael countries recognized for this achievement.
With the 19 awards earned at the Arkansas Conference, the St. Michael team has now earned 133 awards in the team’s three-year history. This success is due to the school’s dedication to Model UN with 75 students or more than 20 percent of the student body involved in Model UN.
Of the 34 team-members that participated in the AMUN Conference, 29 or 85 percent won one or more awards. In addition, senior Mimi Smith and junior Lexi Kruse each won four awards, the most awards an individual can win at the Arkansas Conference.