LAHS Hilltalkers with their coach Margo Batha compete in the New Mexico Model United Nations Conference recently at the Roundhouse including Maximus Posada, Minhtet Htoon, Audrey See, Emma Frost, Shane Tobin, and Karl Sinkula, along with Dana Roelofs, Erin Gattis and Elizabeth Frost. Courtesy photo
Hilltalker Minhtet Htoon competing in the Conference at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe. Courtesy/LAHS
LAHS News:
Earlier this month nine Los Alamos High School Hilltalkers traveled to Santa Fe to compete in the annual New Mexico Model United Nations Conference at the Roundhouse.
Dana Roelofs and Erin Gattis earned Best Delegation in the UNESCO committee. Elizabeth Frost earned Best Delegate for her representation of Tunisia in the United Nations Security Council.
The entire delegation included Maximus Posada, Minhtet Htoon, Audrey See, Emma Frost, Shane Tobin, and Karl Sinkula, along with Dana Roelofs, Erin Gattis and Elizabeth Frost. They formed a delegation representing Tunisia.
Before attending the Model UN conference, students spent hours researching and preparing for the competition by creating position papers on policy topics. All of the research and writing had to reflect Tunisia’s positions on these policy topics.
Hilltalkers Coach Margo Batha said that attending a Model United Nations conference, is a natural fit for students involved with speech and debate.
“With Model UN, students have the opportunity to learn more about global issues and they must draw on their persuasive speaking skills to work collaboratively with other delegates to create policies,” Batha said. “Students see that the world is complex and that multiple factors have to be considered to negotiate the creation of a policy.”
In addition, LAHS students Violet Henderson and Yunseo Kim are among the nine New Mexico high school students who will represent New Mexico and the US in the prestigious 2021 MICC – Model International Criminal Court virtual mock trials Nov. 16-21. Their teammates are from Israel, Poland and Germany.
Model UN is a relatively new event for the Hilltalkers and, with each of the years that they have attended the conference, they have grown in their skills. This year, the Hilltalkers had the expert guidance of Los Alamos High School English teacher, Tacarra Lake, to guide them as they prepared for the conference. The Hilltalkers are looking forward to the University of New Mexico’s Lobo Model United Nations conference in February.