Under the direction of Mrs. Francis, Floral Park Memorial’s Model United Nations team has competed and earned tremendous recognition at conferences in Boston, New Jersey, Washington D.C., New Haven and Chicago.  Yet its most recent trip down Hempstead Turnpike to Hofstra University proved to be one of the club’s most rewarding and successful competitions.

On Friday, February 27 and Saturday, March 1, five students – Thomas Kenna, Grace Lopez, Sophia Ramcharitar, Katrina Gliszcynski and Simrohn Iftekhar – demonstrated their strengths in debate and conflict resolution.

The Hofstra Model United Nations Conference assigned each student to a country and topic for discussion.  Thomas Kenna represented the United States on the issue of ethics of human cloning.  Grace Lopez represented Ireland to address crisis in the Falkland Islands.  Sophia Ramcharitar represented Saudi Arabia to discuss nuclear nonproliferation.  Katrina Gliszczynski represented Kenya on the issue of vaccines and women’s health.  And Simrohn Iftekhar represented Myanmar to discuss asteroid disasters.  Clearly, these students needed to be well-versed in very complex topics.

The students spent the weekend immersed in their country’s policy while formulating comprehensive resolutions through diplomacy.  According to advisor Mrs. Francis, who has spent many years dedicated to the Floral Park MUN Team, “The Hofstra conference was an enjoyable experience and very well-organized.”

Katrina Gliszczynski said, “It was an amazing experience and a lot of fun.”  “The topics were awesome and the people in the committees were so nice – we all worked really well together.”

At the closing ceremonies, awards were given to Thomas Kenna (Outstanding Delegate), Sophia Ramcharitar (Honorable Mention) and Grace Lopez (Verbal Commendation).