Angel Wins ‘Best Position Paper’

Academy of the Holy Angels sophomore Victoria Perez Vega of Cliffside Park earned Best Position Paper honors at this month’s Bergen Tech Model United Nations Conference.

“I love, in particular, when our students win this award because it not only reflects on their hard work with Model UN skills, but also the writing skills they learn here. It makes me doubly happy,” said Model UN Moderator/social studies teacher Jennifer Cucchisi.

Cucchisi attended the Bergen Tech event with Caroline Ko, first-time MUN conference participant Martine Alvarez, Victoria Perez Vega, and Cara Boyce.

“I was very excited to get the opportunity to participate in the negotiating world that is Model UN,” Perez Vega said. “I was able to discuss and compromise with other delegates when taking into account security matters and humanitarian concerns regarding the travels of illegal immigrants. I was assigned the topic of illegal immigration by my committee and had to represent the United Kingdom’s stance on this delicate issue.”

She was a member of the Disarmament and International Security Committee.

“The first and most important step in preparing for the conference is always your position paper,” Perez Vega continued. “This is where you can outline the issue that is the focus of your committee, introduce the ways your country has dealt with the topic, and propose an original solution to this problem. Personally, I wrote about how the UK has passed legislation affecting illegal immigration, but also how this issue is handled on a global level by other nations. My favorite part, and honestly the most rewarding, is seeing how your ideas and proposals get incorporated into the final resolution paper, displaying all the dialogue and debate that we had.

“Model UN has helped me develop into a more aware and prepared global citizen who has acquired a different point of view from writing and speaking with representatives of other countries.”

Perez Vega said MUN allows her to enhance her writing and public speaking skills, and reinforce her confidence.

Founded by the School Sisters of Notre Dame in 1879, the Academy of the Holy Angels is the oldest private girls’ school in Bergen County. While AHA is steeped in Catholic tradition, this prestigious school serves young women from many cultural and religious backgrounds. AHA’s current leaders continue to further the SSND mission to provide each student with the tools she needs to reach the fullness of her potential—spiritually, intellectually, socially, and physically, by offering a first-rate education in a nurturing environment where equal importance is placed on academic excellence, character development, moral integrity, and service to others.