Three students from Kingswood Oxford, including two West Hartford residents, took home top prizes at the competition.

Submitted by Jackie Pisani, Kingswood Oxford School

A delegation of 37 Kingswood Oxford Upper School students headed to Yale on January 17-20 to participate in the highly selective Yale Model United Nations. Three KO students prevailed and took home top prizes: Sam Mazo ’19 of West Hartford (Brexit Negotiations, Honorable Mention, Emmanuel Macron), Jason Meizels ’19 of West Hartford (Press Corps, Honorable Mention), and Spencer Schaller ’20 of Avon (International Court of Justice, Outstanding Delegate).

In order to attend the event, KO students wrote an essay in October on the topic of ethnic cleansing in Myanmar. Based on the quality of their submissions, Stacey Savin, the advisor for Model U.N., selected those students to represent Kingswood Oxford.

Prior to the event, the students researched and worked on their position papers from the points of view from the nations of Canada, Australia, Ecuador, Brunei, Angola and others, and the students were assigned to one of five committees either general assembly (GA), economic and social council (ECOSOC), regional bodies and specialized and crisis committees. Ranging in nature from the government’s role in crypto-currency, disputes in the Arctic Circle, restrictions and regulations on humanitarian aid, food security and other compelling topics, the position papers challenged the students to think critically through issues and develop strategies for resolving them.

The event, involving long nights until 11 p.m., required students to collaborate and share their ideas constructively.

Savin was impressed with the 10 KO chairs who are critical to the success of the event. With more than 1,600 students in attendance, the chairs helped Savin coordinate logistics and ensure everyone’s well-being.

“First of all, the senior chairs really step up and are indispensable. They not only help the students prepare for the event, but they make certain that everyone is safe and be where they are supposed to be. They look out for one another and are responsible for one another,” Savin said. The chairs included Tom Betts, Rabih Chughtai, Coltrane Joseph, Sam Mazo, Jason Meizels, Amy Mistri, Taline Norsigian, Mia Seymour, Janvi Sikand, and Ben Small.

Savin looks forward to the KO Model United Nations (KOMUN) for area middle schoolers on March 9 so the chairs can put what they learned to work at the upcoming event on the KO campus.

Like what you see here? Click here to subscribe to We-Ha’s newsletter so you’ll always be in the know about what’s happening in West Hartford!