Willowbrook students earn awards during Michigan State University’s Model United Nations Conference

From March 18 to 20, eight Willowbrook students competed in Michigan State University’s Model United Nations (MSUMUN) Conference. They are (pictured above, from left to right) freshman Natalie McKenna, junior Sean Maciejewski, senior Nathaniel Falco, junior Riley Biggs, junior Kevin Diederich, junior Lia Galindo, junior Neeraja Kumar and freshman Tyler Zabilka. 

About 300 students from 30 schools participated in the event. Competitors presented their country’s point of view, debated, compromised and produced solutions to various issues. For more information about the event, go to http://www.msumun.org.

Willowbrook represented Germany in the General Assemblies to debate important issues such as the Chernobyl accident in 1986, funding priorities for the United Nations and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Students also competed in Specialized Committees and Crisis Committees, representing a Chicago alderman in the 1920s, a Roman general during a war with Germanic tribes and a religious leader at the Jamestown Colony.

Willowbrook earned several awards, including:

• Team: Best Delegation (1^st place), small group category
  * This is the first time Willowbrook has received a team award.
  
  
• Junior Riley Biggs: Best Delegate (1^st place), 1920s Chicago Prohibition
  
  
• Junior Neeraja Kumar: Book Award (3^rd place), Jamestown Committee
  
  
• Junior Lia Galindo: Book Award (3^rd place), World Cocoa Foundation