Bergen Community College students earned two top honors.
NEW YORK, N.Y. – Representing one of only two community colleges among more than 200 institutions from across the globe, Bergen Community College students notched top recognition in two categories at the National Model United Nations conference at the organization’s headquarters in March. Bergen’s 10 student participants earned the “outstanding position paper” and “outstanding delegation” awards – the highest honor in both areas.
“Participating in an international conference at the United Nations represents a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” President B. Kaye Walter, Ph.D., said. “Our students’ success at the conference speaks to their excellence among peers and the College’s commitment to global context within the curriculum.”
The conference, first organized in 1927, provides students with a cooperative, hands-on, experiential learning environment, allowing participants to confront a range of topics with the perspective of their assigned country or organization. Bergen students represented Guinea Bissau.
The College Model U.N. club, led by faculty co-advisers Camelia-Manuela Lataianu, Ph.D., and Richard Laird, challenges students to become global citizens with an understanding of complex topics. Student members are: Club President Ferha Mohamed, of Hackensack; paper co-authors Remila Jasharllari, of Lodi, and Krishna Leitner, of Kearny; Abriel Acosta, of Ridgefield Park; Andrew August, of Kearny; Urmil Bhansali, of Rutherford; Christopher Capasso, of New Milford; Nate Dvorozniak, of Cresskill; Tyler Kim, of Palisades Park; and Keana Watson, of Rutherford.
“It is both an honor and a privilege to represent Bergen,” paper co-author Jasharllari said. “Model U.N. is one of those experiences that can change one’s life. It’s a great simulation where you can learn a lot about yourself and the world that surrounds you in terms of diplomacy, leadership and international relations.”
Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls 15,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields. More students graduate from Bergen than any other community college in the state.
# # #