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Fog/Mist Elmont High Model UN travels to state capitol
After successful performances at Princeton University and University of California at Berkeley’s Model United Nations conferences this academic year, the Elmont Memorial High School Model United Nations team and the founder of the program, Lee Marcus, joined Assemblywoman Michaelle C. Solages and state Sen. Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick in Albany to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Elmont Model United Nations.
The team and Marcus were recognized on the New York State Assembly floor and in the New York State Senate during their visit on April 9. The group was also given a tour of the state capitol building.
Marcus was the inaugural advisor to the original team formed in 1978 at Elmont Memorial High School. As a retired social studies teacher at Elmont Memorial, former New Hyde Park social studies chairperson and former Sewanhaka school district coordinator of social studies, Marcus was instrumental in making Elmont’s Model UN a world-renowned program.
The 2023-24 Elmont Model UN team carries on the legacy of success begun under Marcus’ leadership, winning four awards this past fall at Princeton University’s Model United Nations Conference between Nov. 16-19 and seven committee awards at University of California at Berkeley’s conference between March 7-10.
This year also marks 30 years of the annual Lee Marcus Sewaanhaka Intra-District Model UN Conference and the 20th anniversary of the Lee Marcus Model UN program at all of the elementary schools in the Elmont school district.
Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick said in a statement that she was delighted to meet the members of the program and its founding educator Lee Marcus.
“I am in awe of the accomplishments these students have already achieved, and I look forward to seeing what more they accomplish in the future,” Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick said in the statement.
Solages described the visit with the highly-decorated team a “pleasure” in a news release.
“They represent the best of Elmont, putting together one of the world’s premier Model United Nations programs and consistently achieving at the highest level,” Solages said in the news release.
