Kingswood Oxford’s Model UN Team wins awards at Harvard Conference in Spain.

Seventeen Kingswood Oxford students and two teachers pause in front of the Royal Palace in Madrid, before competing in the 28th annual Harvard Model Congress Europe conference on Mar. 14-16. Submitted photo

Submitted by Kingswood Oxford School

A 17-member Model UN team from Kingswood Oxford performed remarkably well at the Harvard Model Congress Europe in Madrid, Spain, with four students bringing home prestigious individual awards.

KO’s team was the only American group among the 34 schools at the conference, which was held March 14-16, 2015. Before the conference, which occurred during KO’s annual March break, the students spent several days touring the cities of Seville, Granada, and Cordoba. They were accompanied by history teacher and Model UN advisor Stacey Savin and Assistant Head of School for Student Life Carolyn McKee.

Nearly 600 students from around the world competed in the 28th annual Harvard conference, which featured keynoter Christine Quinn, former Speaker of the New York City Council, who reflected on this year’s theme: “Everyone Matters: Government Should Encompass All Voices.”The four students who won individual awards were:

• Lauren McPherson ’17 of Avon, Award of Excellence – Media
• Benjamin Waldman ’16 of West Hartford, Award of Excellence – Supreme Court
• Katherine Smith ’15 of West Hartford, Award of Excellence – International Atomic Energy Agency
• Areesha Irfan ’15 of Farmington, Honorable Mention – National Security Council

“Winning awards in so many different types of committees was exciting,” said Savin. “So was interacting with so many smart and interesting people from all over the world.”