News release from Fontbonne Academy

During the last weekend of February vacation eight members of Fontbonne’s Model United Nations Club and their advisor, Ms. Pilla, attended the 11th annual Boston University Model UN Conference at Boston’s Park Plaza Hotel. Model UN is an organization with chapters in high schools and colleges all over the world which gives students experience with researching, debating, and resolving world problems as they would if they were actual members of the United Nations.

BosMUN was the first major, multi-day conference the Fontbonne delegation had attended. There were 1,400 delegates from eighty high schools all over the country at the conference. Students participated on committees which addressed a variety of global issues from both current events and historical situations. Junior Emily Devane ’13 was a member of LBJ’s Tuesday Luncheon Group from 1968 which dealt with the many turbulent events of that year, such as the Vietnam War, the struggle for Civil Rights, and the assassination of Martin Luther King. Emily and others debated in the characters of famous decision-makers of the time and this experience left a lasting impression on Emily: “Being fully immersed in these same situations made me respect the enormous weight these men had on their shoulders and the fact that the true effects of their actions were not always clear. I will never forget the time I spent in 1968 and at BosMUN 2012.”

Back row L to R: Faith Ogebewe ’14 of Randoph, Kathleen Moran ’13 of Dedham, Emily Devane ’13 of Quincy, Julia Butts ’13 of Braintree. Front row: Rheannon Swire ’13 of Stoughton, Emma Byrne ’13 of Milton, Maretta Morovitz ’13 of Weymouth, and Stacy Xu ’13 of Milton.

All Fontbonne delegates handled themselves with poise and professionalism and all worked hard to contribute to their committee work. The leader of the conference, the Secretary General of the Boston University Model UN group, in speaking with Ms. Pilla praised the Fontbonne women for their conduct and communication skills. At the awards ceremony at the end of the conference, two Fontbonne Model UN members were recognized for their exceptional contributions: Julia Butts received an Outstanding Delegate award and Maretta Morovitz received a Verbal Commendation award.