A group of Watertown High School students showed their skills at diplomacy and negotiation and public speaking during the Model United Nations conference at Boston Latin School. Ten WHS students earned awards, including one who earned Best Delegate honors.
The Model UN Club is an afterschool activity that has been growing in interest at the High School, said WHS social studies teacher David Mastro, who is the club advisor along with Bannon Beall.
The Boston Latin Conference included at least 20 schools and around 300 students, Mastro said.
“We were one of the largest delegations at this conference of about 300 students. We won a total of 10 awards at this conference,” Mastro said. “This is the first time the club has ever won double digit awards at a MUN conference.”
Each student is assigned a country and an issue, and they must prepare for the conference, Mastro said.
“They basically are in a formal debate when they’re doing it. And these debates are where you either represent like a person in history, or you represent a country,” Mastro said. “And you have a topic, so it could be, AI and cyber security, global concerns. And so as that country, you try to push the agenda of your country and try to get something that would be beneficial for your country.”
The students do opening speeches, and then they debate back and forth in a formal way.
At the end of the Boston Latin Model UN Conference, 10 Watertown students received honors, which is the most that the school had received at a conference, Mastro said. Sophomore Jennie Mosca was chosen as Best Delegate.
Watertown High School Honorees at the Boston Latin Model UN
Student Name: Committee: Award:
Elliott Lim AI & Cybersecurity Honorable Mention
Simon Abo AI & Cybersecurity Honorable Mention
Violet Daly Azerbaijan COP 29 Honorable Mention
Jennie Mosca Azerbaijan COP 29 Best Delegate
Graham Lawson EU: A Divided Europe Honorable Mention
Carson Beale EU: A Divided Europe Honorable Mention
Magdalena Stepis OAS Venezuelan Crisis Honorable Mention
Zahra Benali AU: Sudanese Crisis Honorable Mention
Ava Kickikova UN Security Council Honorable Mention
Hannah Scott Bretton Woods Honorable Mention
Mastro said he has been impressed by the dedication of the students.
“We meet before and after school and the kids themselves, they ran their own little Model UN simulation to get themselves ready for Boston Latin School,” Mastro said.
The preparation session for the Boston Latin took place on a Saturday which fell the day after Halloween, and more then 30 students took part.
“”I was thinking, ‘OK, these kids signed up. Will they all really show up the day after Halloween?'” Mastron said. “Yeah, they were here. They were ready to go. I was like, ‘Wow!’ I was very impressed.”
He noted that the majority of the current Model UN Club in Watertown are ninth and 10th grades, with some 11th graders.
“These kids are very motivated. They’re highly driven kids,” he said.
The Model UN Club has grown exponentially. Last year, about a dozen went to the Boston Latin Model UN.
“Three years ago, we were only five kids. Now we’re in the 60s, so it’s pretty impressive,” said Mastro, who added. “These kids do a lot of work. It’s very impressive to see kids in this wanting to learn how to make a global difference, and be a global citizen.”
WHS Model UN will take part in two more conferences this school year, one at Boston University, BosMUN, in February and one at Boston College, Eagle MUN, in March.