Montana Model UN Announces High School Winners

Clara Bentler, a UM student and secretary-general internal, speaks at the recent Montana Model United Nations Conference at the University of Montana in Missoula.

MISSOULA – More than 250 students from 12 Montana and Idaho high schools participated in the 57th annual Montana Model United Nations Conference, hosted in November at the University of Montana.

UM Provost Dr. Pardis Mahdavi welcomed students and their advisers to campus and shared her own personal experiences growing up in Iran. Joanna Shelton, a UM economics faculty affiliate and nonresident senior associate in economics for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, gave a keynote speech titled “Global Cooperation in a Fragmented World.”

The top five high school seniors were Melina LaPlante, Eden Maxwell and Ashley Kim of Hellgate High School in Missoula, as well as Aiden Rohn and Eddie Chisholm of Columbia Falls High School in Columbia Falls. Each will be offered a $1,000 scholarship to attend UM.

Schools also won awards at the conclusion of the conference. Participating schools were divided into small and large delegations based on the number of students attending and were judged on the overall preparedness, participation and excellence of their delegates. The three school award categories include Outstanding School for the top 10%, Distinguished School for the top 20% and Honorable School for the top 30%.

The small-delegation school winner was Bozeman High School in Bozeman, advised by Jason Nagel and Amy Wallner-Drake. The large delegation winner was Hellgate High Scholl in Missoula, advised by Courtney Christopher and Jeff Waniata.

Fritz Bieler, the school adviser from Jefferson High School in Boulder, celebrated his 30th anniversary as a Model UN adviser. He was awarded a plaque celebrating his achievement and commitment to Montana Model United Nations. The top 20% of teams representing countries and students who attended the conference also received awards, as did UM students who planned and staffed the conference. 

For more information, visit the Montana Model UN website at https://hs.umt.edu/mun/. The 2023 Montana Model United Nations conference is planned for Nov. 20-21, 2023.

Delegate Awards

General Assembly First Committee

Honorable Delegates (Top 20%)

From

Representing

Delegate

Bozeman High School

USA

Calvin Andrews

Glacier High School

Jamaica

Ethan Wood

Hellgate High School

Armenia

Devyn Deschamps

Glacier High School

Indonesia

Calvin Schmidt

Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy

Iran

Sam Lambert

Glacier High School

Ireland

Kevin Fortin

Distinguished Delegates (Top 10%) – Certificate

From

Representing

Delegate

Big Sky High School

China

Madelyn McInnis

Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy

Israel

Jayden LaVecchia

Hellgate High School

Ecuador

Ryan Heng

Flathead High School

Albania

Derek McDonough

Outstanding Delegates (Top 1-2%) – Medals

From

Representing

Delegate

Hellgate High School

United Kingdom

Ashley Kim

Columbia Falls High School

Venezuela

Aiden Rohn

General Assembly Second Committee

Honorable Delegates (Top 20%)

From

Representing

Delegate

Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy

France

Darby Puckett

Hellgate High School

Nigeria

Ruben Marrow

Bozeman High School

Belgium

Will Carraway

Hellgate High School

Honduras

Ariana Roberts

Flathead High School

Australia

Aereck Haroldson

Distinguished Delegates (Top 10%) – Certificate

From

Representing

Delegate

Sentinel High School

Japan

Jesse McCormick

Columbia Falls High School

Venezuela

Eddie Chisholm

Bozeman High School

Greece

Graham Hodgson

Hellgate High School

United Kingdom

Mila McKay

Outstanding Delegates (Top 1-2%) – Medals

From

Representing

Delegate

Hellgate High School

Italy

Melina LaPlante

Bozeman High School

United States of America

Myeongmin Choi

United Nations Environment Agency

Honorable Delegates (Top 20%)

From

Representing

Delegate

Flathead High School

Albania

Rachel Ottman

Big Sky High School

China

Tennyson Smith

Big Sky High School

Senegal

Emmy Newhouse

Columbia Falls High School

Venezuela

Brayden Crawford

Jefferson

Costa Rica

Flora Tanaka

Columbia Falls High School

Canada

Colton Little

Distinguished Delegates (Top 10%)

From

Representing

Delegate

Flathead High School

Australia

Emmary Faerber

Flathead High School

Portugal

Kenna Anderson

Hellgate High School

Ecuador

Julian Alvier

Hellgate High School

Netherlands

Laine Banziger

Outstanding Delegates (Top 1-2%)

From

Representing

Delegate

Sentinel High School

Japan

Josie Moretti

Hellgate High School

United Kingdom

Faith You

United Nations Human Right Council

Honorable Delegates (Top 20%)

From

Representing

Delegate

Big Sky High School

China

Max Carter

Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy

Gabon

Mira Crawford

Hellgate High School

New Zealand

Keira Skovlin

Glacier High School

Indonesia

Blake Lindemann

Distinguished Delegates (Top 10%)

From

Representing

Delegate

Flathead High School

India

Gabe Reddish

Glacier High School

Eritrea

Cadence Murcray

Sentinel High School

Japan

Izzy Watson

Outstanding Delegates (Top 1-2%)

From

Representing

Delegate

Hellgate High School

United Kingdom

Eden Maxwell

Security Council

Honorable Delegate (Top 20%)

From

Representing

Delegate

Flathead High School

India

Rylin Wilde

Distinguished Delegate (Top 10%)

From

Representing

Delegate

 

Bozeman High School

Ghana

Cameron Taylor

Outstanding Delegate (Top 1-2%)

From

Representing

Delegate

Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy

France

Julian Conigliaro

Position Paper Awards

Honorable Position Papers (Top 20%)                            

From (school)

Representing

Student

Hellgate High School

Netherlands

Rya

Nichols

Hellgate High School

Nigeria

Maxime

Diaz

Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy

Poland

Ellen

Midgley

Hellgate High School

Italy

Thalia

Lambros

Hellgate High School

Armenia

Kaitlyn

Skinner

Hellgate High School

New Zealand

Keira

Skovlin

Bozeman High School

USA

Anna

Curtis

Hellgate High School

Netherlands

Lucia

Johnstone

Sentinel High School

Japan

Jesse

McCormick

Hellgate High School

Italy

Melina

LaPlante

Hellgate High School

Armenia

Rori

Ojala

Columbia Falls High School

Canada

Colton

Little

Bozeman High School

USA

Benjamin

Wilson

Hellgate High School

United Kingdom

Faith

You

Hellgate High School

Sudan

Gerik

Manger

Distinguished Position Papers (Top 10 %) Certificate                                                                      

From (school)

Representing

Student

Hellgate High School

United Kingdom

Ashley

Kim

Hellgate High School

Uzbekistan

Maizy

Miller

Flathead High School

Bolivia

Tayen

Lackey

Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy

Namibia

Emilia

Delaune

Hellgate High School

Netherlands

Claire

Kinderwater

Flathead High School

Albania

Neila

Lyngholm

Bozeman High School

Belgium

Will

Carraway

Hellgate High School

United Kingdom

Mila

McKay

Hellgate High School

Viet Nam

Ryall

Pham

Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy

Israel

Sebastian

Baker

Hellgate High School

Armenia

Beatrice

Shimanek

Big Sky High School

Finland

Hayden

Bosshardt

Hellgate High School

New Zealand

Rose

Wiltse

Outstanding Position Papers (Top 1-2%) Medals                                                     

From (school)

Representing

Student

Hellgate High School

Ukraine

Lucy

Pino

Flathead High School

India

Gabe

Reddish

 

Flathead High School

India

Rylin

Wilde

Bozeman High School

Greece

Graham

Hodgson

Flathead High School

Portugal

Kenna

Anderson

Top 25 Seniors all medals

Top 5 (Scholarship Recipients)                                             

From (school)

Representing

Student

Committee

Hellgate High School

Italy

Melina LaPlante

GA2

Hellgate High School

United Kingdom

Eden Maxwell

HRC

Hellgate High School

United Kingdom

Ashley Kim

GA1

Columbia Falls High School

Venezuela

Aiden Rohn

GA1

Columbia Falls High School

Venezuela

Eddie Chisholm

GA2

Remaining Top Seniors (Reserve Scholarship Recipients)

From (school)

Representing

Student

Committee

Sentinel High School

Japan

Josie Moretti

UNEA

Hellgate High School

United Kingdom

Mila McKay

GA2

Flathead High School

Portugal

Kenna Anderson

UNEA

Flathead High School

India

Gabe Reddish

HRC

Glacier High School

Eritrea

Cadence Murcray

HRC

Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy

Israel

Jayden LaVecchia

GA1

Flathead High School

Australia

Luke Leech

GA1

Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy

Gabon

Josie Golebiewski

GA2

Glacier High School

Jamaica

Ethan Wood

GA1

Bozeman High School

United States of America

Anna Curtis

Security Council

Bozeman High School

United States of America

Benjamin Wilson

UNEA

Columbia Falls High School

Venezuela

Celestine Young

HRC

Darby High School

Paraguay

Kadence Fisher

GA1

Glacier High School

Ireland

Aidan Walker

Security Council

Columbia Falls High School

Canada

Braeden Fairchild

GA1

Glacier High School

Indonesia

Calvin Schmidt

GA1

Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy

France

Lauren Holecek

HRC

Flathead High School

India

Thomas Konopka

GA1

Flathead High School

India

Connor Adcox

GA2

Jefferson

Germany

Rylee Baird

HRC

Country Awards

Honorable Country Delegations (top 20%) – Verbal commendation                                               

Country         

Represented by (school)

India

Flathead High School

Gabon

Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy

Armenia

Hellgate High School

New Zealand

Hellgate High School

Canada

Columbia Falls High School

Honduras

Hellgate High School

Uzbekistan

Hellgate High School

Distinguished Country Delegations (top 10%) - Certificate

Country         

Represented by (school)

 

Netherlands

Hellgate High School

Albania

Flathead High School

Australia

Flathead High School

Ecuador

Hellgate High School

Outstanding Country Delegations (top 5%) – Plaque

Country         

Represented by (school)

 

United Kingdom

Hellgate High School

Japan

Sentinel High School

Venezuela

Columbia Falls High School

School Awards

Honorable Schools (top 30%)

                                             School (s)                                                       Adviser(s)

 

Small Delegation:                    Glacier High School                                        Beau Wright

 

Large Delegations:                  Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy                      Sandy Midgley

           

Distinguished Schools (top 20%)

                                              School                                           Adviser(s)

 

Small Delegation:               Heritage Academy                              Susan Wagner

 

Large Delegation:               Flathead High School                         Sean O’Donnell

 

Outstanding Schools (top 10%)

                                                School                                                            Adviser(s)

 

Small Delegation:                    Bozeman High School                    Jason Nagel & Amy Wallner-Drake

 

Large Delegation:                   Hellgate High School                      Jeff Waniata & Courtney Christopher

 

Staff Awards

Vice Chair                                                       UM Student Name      Committee     

Honorable mention                                          Ian Radoff                   GA 1

Best Vice- Chair                                               Sean Kunau                GA 2

Chair                                                               UM Student Name      Committee     

Honorable mention                                           Anabella Salyard        GA 2

Best Chair                                                       Alysa Curry                 UNEA

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Contact: Dr. Eva-Maria Maggi, UM Department of Political Science, 406-531-6037, eva.maggi@umontana.edu; Kasey Swisher, Montana Model UN secretary general-external, kasey.swisher@umontana.edu.