A RO U N D M KA
MODEL UN
Cum Laude Society
2016 inductees are: Jack Besser Nisha Bhagwat Morgan Booker William Bromley Emma Bruce Alex Cappitelli Ana Lucia EspinosaDice Vikash Dodani Sara Feraca William Hughes Audrey Lane Yasaman Mahdi Leah Murphy Samantha Pai Julia Randall Jordan Schildkraut Rachel Sobel Samuel Sobel Abigail South Shelly Tsirulik Lauren Yagoda
Congratulations to the 21 seniors from the MKA class of 2016 who were inducted into the Cum Laude Society at a formal ceremony held at the Upper School. The Cum Laude Society, established in l906, is modeled on the Phi Beta Kappa Collegiate National Honor Society and recognizes the scholastic achievement of secondary school students. It is the highest academic honor bestowed on members of the graduating class. Gene Gurkoff, a Cum Laude graduate from MKA’s class of 1997 and Founder of Charity Miles, an iPhone/Android app that enables people to earn money for charity when they walk, run or bike, was the keynote speaker. Since launching in 2012, Charity Miles members have walked, run and biked enough miles earn over $2 million for some of the top charities in the world. Gene referenced three quotes from Robert Frost, Emmet “Doc” Brown in Back to the Future and Yogi Berra when addressing the students. He advised that when he looks at the road his classmates took after graduating MKA, “we’re all happy in our own ways, and face our own challenges. None of our roads are inherently happier or more worthy than any others. So, it’s gonna be up to you—whatever roads you take—please do something that matters. He went to say that, ‘for all the forks I’ve taken—all the roads I’ve traveled—they all lead back home.”
The class of 2016 graduated 25 “Lifers” who gathered for a group photo at Headmaster Tom Nammack’s house for the Annual Lifer Reception. Front row: Charlotte Stanton, Anne Lemmer, Francesca Cherchio, Izzy Mendez, Samantha Pai, Emma Pacifico, Kennedy Robinson, Emma Asher, David Harvey and George Schaefer. Second row: Rob Strain, William Brunner, Isabella Calandra, Yasaman Mahdi, Derek Kleinman, Morgan Booker, Charles Rilli, Bobby Cottingham, Jay Arora, Austin Knowles, Ryan Polizzi, Peter Colbert and Joe Strain. Not present: Telemak Olsen and Brittany Jones
FAL L 2016
From January 28-31st, an intrepid group of 27 MKA students attended the 32nd annual Ivy League Model UN Conference at the University of Pennsylvania. This year, over 3,500 students from 120 schools in 11 countries participated. MKA represented the countries of Azerbaijan and Burkina Faso and debated such topics as the European refugee crisis, economic growth and sustainability in Africa and global human rights. Despite the heavy amount of work and committees that lasted until 11:30 p.m, students found time to explore Philadelphia including historic Reading Market and City Hall. Students also had a chance to make new friends and socialize at such events as the Delegate Fest, a celebration of local cuisine and live music. According to faculty advisor and Economics teacher Tom Carroll, “Model UN continues to be a very popular extracurricular activity at the Upper School as it exposes students to an array of important international issues and current events.” On February 8th, a group of eight MKA students from the Model UN Club journeyed to Manhattan to the home of the United Nations. William Wagner MKA ‘06 hosted them there. Will is Political Affairs Advisor to the American Mission at the UN. Will talked to the students at length about his educational and career path that lead to this exciting career. He spoke about the diplomacy and types of negotiations that take place in the passing of resolutions through the Security Council. Interestingly, Will credits the genesis of his interest in Middle Eastern affairs (his specialty) to his senior year May Term at MKA! Following their meeting with Will, the students were given a guided tour of the entire UN including the actual rooms where meetings and deliberations take place. It was a fabulous day for the students to see firsthand the workings of this famous international institution. They capped it all off with lunch at the UN Cafe.
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