Students stand united at Ohio Model United Nations event
Gracie Shreve, left, was chosen as 2018 assistant secretary general, and Kelsey Miller was tabbed as the 2018 council president for next year’s OMUN project. The two will help lead the student-based United Nations conference, a major honor.
In today’s world of chaos, adversity and nations struggling to get along, both inside their own walls and outside their borders with other nations, it was refreshing to see how a group of West Holmes High School students recently got a lesson in teamwork, compassion and resolving problems through a diplomatic, peaceful approach.
Sixteen students from West Holmes High School attended Ohio Model United Nations, a large youth-based global education event in Columbus on Dec. 9-11, where 1,525 students from 41 other Ohio school districts united for some educational fun and to learn some important values the students won’t soon forget.
OMUN is designed to help teenagers gain a better understanding on the events of the world today and how they can take a leading role as tomorrow’s leaders in helping to gain a better handle on ways to build a better world. It ended up being a real lesson in working together to accomplish goals that are good for all involved, and most importantly it is a function that is student-led, meaning it was students leading students.
“I think Mindy Kick has done an excellent job of getting the students prepared for this kind of a big event,” said Lisa Lang, West Holmes OMUN advisor and part of Tri-County ESC. “Right now in our world it is more important than ever for kids to learn about humanitarianism and working out our global problems in a peaceful, meaningful way. OMUN does a good job of helping kids realize that whether they agree or disagree, there are proper ways to work through the issues at hand, and we can resolve conflicts by showing respect and listening to one another even though our thoughts and ideas may differ.”
The West Holmes students opted to represent the nations of Chile and Morocco for the event, and Lang said representing a different nation other than the United States allows the students to see things from a fresh perspective.
One of the event’s biggest accomplishments for West Holmes was seeing both Kelsey Miller and Gracie Shreve tabbed as just two of the 52 honorees out of 1,525 students to receive a coveted Outstanding Leadership Award. In addition Shreve will serve as the assistant secretary general, and Miller will be a council president at the 2018 OMUN. That means they will help lead the next conference.
Each of the school’s nations could vote on the leaders, and Lang said what makes the Lady Knights’ election to such esteemed roles so incredible is that they were one of the smaller schools in attendance, meaning they had fewer delegates from their home school voting.
They had to create their own platform and run for their positions, and some of these schools had up to 25 votes, meaning the two girls had to earn their roles.
“For them to get elected the way they did under those odds is a huge accomplishment,” Lang said.
Lang said the OMUN experience changes the lives of those in attendance, both from a leadership standpoint and in enhancing their knowledge of what is taking place in the world today. She said they heard stories about people who attended this event and later went on to create careers from their experience.
She also said another great lesson was that every person has a voice, and they can make a difference in the lives of those around them by taking on a leadership role and showing others they care about their well-being.
“We are always going to have conflict, and problems are always going to arise,” Lang said. “How we learn to deal with those issues determines what kind of people we want to be, and OMUN does a great job of promoting a positive message that we can learn to work through conflicts in a good way.”
She went on to note that the students used both critical and creative thinking throughout the event, and they were able to let their talents shine as they created passionate debates and even some interesting talent show performances.
The West Holmes students were asked to wear costumes that would represent both Morocco and Chile, and Lang said the girls who were part of the Moroccan team did a sensational job in creating their costumes.
However, most importantly it created a bond for the students as they worked together as a team, improving their communication skills and learning to work through problems to find amicable resolutions.
“It was fun to see how passionate some of them were in approaching this,” Lang said. “I think it opened a lot of eyes and created a great atmosphere to unite as a team.”
West Holmes had several team members participating in the Ohio Model of United Nations. Representing Chile were Ethan Harford, Bobby Hartley, Kaitlin Hill, Tyler Larson, Joy Latouf, Summer Miller, Lyrik Spurlock and Haeden Wolfe, who created a fogalicious resolution and a skit on improving water sources with fog nets.
The team of Kelsey Miller, Selena Latouf, Gracie Shreve, Chloe Snyder, Reagan Welsh and Beth Young represented Morocco by crafting a resolution on traditions of tolerance, creating a five-minute musical at the largest global education program in the nation on Dec. 3-5 in Columbus.
Individual contests consisted of Summer Miller and Reagan Welsh, who created a Peace Essay; Selena Latouf and Tyler Larson, who entered the world of World Problem Solving; Ethan Harford and Gracie Shreve, who covered the topic World Citizenship; Bobby Hartley and Kelsey Miller, who tackled Current Events; Lyrik Spurlock and Chloe Snyder, who dealt with Global Agenda Issues; and I-OPEN Project participants Haeden Wolfe and Beth Young and officer candidates Kaitlin Hill, Kelsey Miller, Gracie Shreve and Beth Young.
If you want to know more about Ohio Model of United Nations or how to get involved, let advisors Kick and Lang know. Next year OMUN will be held Dec. 2-4.