ALMA — A pair of Alma College student organizations excelled recently at regional competitions, positioning themselves well to win at larger events.
The Alma College Model United Nations (MUN) team competed at the Midwest Model UN conference in St. Louis, Missouri, in February, earning Alma three “outstanding delegation” awards, the highest recognition at the conference, and two “distinguished delegation” awards, the second highest recognition.
Meanwhile, the Alma College chapter of the Business Professionals of America (BPA) competed in the Postsecondary State Leadership Conference for Michigan in Grand Rapids in February and won 27 total awards, including seven first-place awards.
- Read more about the business program at Alma College.
For MUN, the “outstanding delegation” winners were:
- Bryce Birchmeier, Elsa Dupon, Emily Patzkowsky, Victoria Posey and Robert Preni, representing Djibouti;
- Isabell Bryans, Mallory Fenskie, Hunter Jaffray, Emily Kraenzlein, Aditya Shankar and Sandra Voskoboynikova, representing the Dominican Republic;
- and Mohamed Ben Trad, Iasmina Idris, Salma Laraichi, Filippos Mourikis and Gabe Roof, representing Zambia.
A full list of MUN winners is below.
This year, 2024, marks the 31th consecutive year that the team has received an “outstanding” award, and its 59th, 60th and 61st “outstanding” award since 1994.
“Our students are incredibly hard-working and passionate about what they do,” said Derick “Sandy” Hulme, Arthur L. Russell Professor of Political Science and MUN advisor. “They deserve all the credit in the world. We had 19 first-time participants and they made enormous progress in the first seven weeks of class. We are now poised to go to New York for the national competition and perform extremely well.”
For BPA, Gracie Allen won first-place awards in the Advanced Interview Skills and Basic Office Systems and Procedures categories. Victoria Posey took home top honors in the Legal Office System and Procedures, and Parliamentary Procedures categories. Chloe Anderson won a first-place award for Financial Math and Analysis, while Jake Lasceski won first for Business Law and Ethics.
A full list of BPA winners is also below.
“I was impressed by the depth and breadth of the talents this team possesses, which is evident in the awards they won,” said business professor Andy Singer, who is the advisor of the Alma College BPA. “These skills are not only necessary for business students, but for any type of student. We hope that the awards we brought home from this event, and expect to bring home at nationals in May, entice more Alma College students to join BPA.”
The BPA team will take part in the 2024 National Leadership Conference in May in Chicago. The MUN team, meanwhile, will travel to New York City in April to compete in the National MUN Conference.
MODEL UNITED NATIONS WINNERS
“Distinguished Delegation” members (representing Bolivia):
Wassim Guerfali
Ichrak Labidi
Isabelle Monroe
Aishat Ostanbekova
Vadim Ryzhikov
Perci Wolday
“Distinguished Delegation” members (representing Cambodia):
Hiba Belhaj
Khalil Allah Chalouati
Nishant Khairnar
August Sack
Nayeli Santana-Venegas
Nayonikaa Singhaal
Lexie Thayer
The following students received individual recognition as “outstanding delegates”:
Mohamed Ben Trad
Isabell Bryans
Khalil Chalouati
Elsa Dupon
Mallory Fenskie
Wassim Guerfali
Emily Kraenzlein
Ichrak Labidi
Salma Laraichi
Filippos Mourikis
Robert Preni
August Sack
The following students received individual recognition as “honorable mention” delegates:
Iasmina Idris
Hunter Jaffray
Aditya Shankar
Sandra Voskoboynikova
The following students received individual recognition as “delegate choice” awardees:
Hunter Jaffray
Salma Laraichi
Isabelle Monroe
Filippos Mourikis
Aditya Shankar
Sandra Voskoboynikova
BUSINESS PROFESSIONALS OF AMERICA WINNERS
Business Law and Ethics: Victoria Posey (2nd)
Graphic Design Promotion: Gracie Allen (2nd)
Small Business Management Team: Chloe Anderson and Yassine Kraiem (2nd)
Parliamentary Procedures: Jake Lasceski (2nd)
Management, Markets, and HR Concepts: Jake Lasceski (2nd)
C# Programming: El Yazid Belhaj (2nd)
Computer Programming Concepts: Yassine Kraiem (2nd)
Financial Math and Analysis: Yassine Kraiem (2nd)
Ethics and Professionalism: Akwasi Asare (2nd)
Basic Office Systems and Procedures: Chloe Anderson (2nd)
Meeting and Events Planning: Gracie Allen (2nd)
Health Administration Concepts: Victoria Posey (2nd)
Interview Skills: Chloe Anderson (2nd)
Health Administration Concepts: Jake Lasceski (3rd)
Meeting and Events Planning: Jake Lasceski (3rd)
Python Programming: El Yazid Belhaj (3rd)
Basic Office Systems & Procedures: Widad Hajji (3rd)
Fundamental Spreadsheet Analysis: Akwasi Asare (3rd)
Fundamental Web Design: Mohamed Ben Trad (3rd)
Human Resource Management: Jake Lasceski (3rd)