Wildcats win at Model UN conference
<p>From left, Cody Phillips, Alison Foust, Emily Getts, Colin Norick, Meredith Stolte and Anabel Conger all participated in Model United Nations convention at the University of Montana.</p>
A host of Columbia Falls High School students got a taste of foreign relations recently when they participated in the University of Montana’s Model United Nations conference.
The students did well, too. In their first outing, they received the Distinguished School Award, the top award for small schools.
In addition, Meredith Stolte was recognized for being an outstanding delegate, and Alison Foust won a top 20 senior award with the potential for a $1,000 scholarship from the university.
Brothers Colin and Colter Norick won distinguished delegate honors, and the Noricks, Stolte, Foust, Annabel Conger and Miranda Lauria all won distinguished papers honors.
The conference drew 370 students from across the state. During the event, students represented individual countries and their positions as if it were the actual United Nations. The Columbia Falls students represented India, Nigeria and Qatar.
Stolte acted as a Nigerian delegate.
“I learned a lot about the Boka Haram Islamist group,” she said.
The terrorist group is known for its attacks on Christians and the government and for slaughtering civilians, she noted.
Stolte, a junior, plans to study history in college, while Foust, a senior, is eyeing a political science major.
Attending the conference was part of the high school’s effort to give gifted and talented students more educational opportunities.