From left to right: Dayseana Overton, Lassana Sissako, Jenny Monción-Peña,
Dario Peralta,Yunerys Liriano, Ameen Alhubaishi, Massiel Cabrera, David Prince,
Angélica Herrera DeLeon, Daniel De La Cruz, and Nayeh Yisrael.
During the weekend of October 31, and for a fourth year in a row, 11 members of the Hostos
Student Leadership Academy (SLA) travelled to Washington, D.C., to participate in the annual
National Model United Nations Conference (NMUN).
This year, the Hostos delegation represented Greece and served on five of seven committees: General Assembly First (GA 1), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Economic and Social Council Plenary (ECOSOC). The members of this year’s Hostos team were Dayseana Overton (WHO, Head Delegate), Yunerys Liriano (WHO), Daniel De La Cruz (UNCTAD), Lassana Sissako (UNCTAD), Jenny Monción-Peña (UNHCR), Massiel Cabrera (UNHCR), Angélica Herrera DeLeon (GA 1), Ameen Alhubaishi (GA 1), David Prince (ECOSOC), Nayeh Yisrael (ECOSOC) and Darío Peralta (Head Delegate). Once again, Hostos had the most diverse delegation at the conference, with students from Honduras, Mali, Yemen, the Dominican Republic, the United States, and Cuba.
From left to right: David Prince, Nayeh Yisrael, Lassana Sissako, Daniel De La Cruz,
Yunerys Liriano, Dayseana Overton, Darío Peralta, Ameen Alhubaishi, Angélica Herrera DeLeon,
Massiel Cabrera, and Jenny Monción-Peña
.
The team was split into pairs for each committee and worked on issues as diverse as pursuing a blue economy; leveraging science, technology and innovation for today's youth; preventing vector borne diseases in developing countries; addressing the needs of urban refugees; and empowering women as agents of change in health systems.
Hostos students were selected after submitting position papers and participating in workshops, which helped them to develop their negotiation skills, debating techniques and consensus building proficiencies. While at the Conference, team members formed committees that drafted working papers, which were voted on by the nearly 800 National Collegiate Conference students from across the country and across the world.
This year marked a new level of engagement for the Hostos delegation, as they spent Friday morning visiting with three regional Congressional Offices regarding ongoing U.S. support for the mission of the United Nations. In offices just outside the Capitol Building, the Hostos delegation attended meetings with the Legislative Counsel for long-standing Hostos friend, Congressman José E. Serrano of the 15th District of New York, the Legislative Assistant for Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro of the 3rd District in Connecticut, and the Legislative Director for retiring Congressman Jim Gerlach of the 6th District in Pennsylvania.
The meetings were scheduled by the United Nations Foundation - UNA-USA in an effort to engage the representatives in conversations about the United Nations’ mission to combat Ebola, to support efforts with regard to the Central African Republic (CAR) peacekeeping mission and the ISIS Security Council resolution. The SLA team worked in collaboration with one another to ask the representatives about their position on these topics and their plans to provide ongoing financial support to the United Nations to tackle these tough world issues.
While the days were long, the students were able to visit the White House, the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial, and the Lincoln Monument where Dr. Martin Luther King., Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
On the final day of the Conference, the Hostos delegation came to the aid of a student from the Dominican Republic who fainted outside a restaurant. The SLA delegation immediately jumped into action and called for an ambulance, translated for the student and her group, and provided support. Proving what the Hostos student leaders are all about.
About Hostos Community College
Eugenio María de Hostos Community College is an educational agent for change that has been transforming and improving the quality of life in the South Bronx and neighboring communities since 1968. It serves as a gateway to intellectual growth and socioeconomic mobility, as well as a point of departure for lifelong learning, success in professional careers, and transfer to advanced higher education programs. The College’s unique "Student Success Coaching Unit" provides students with individualized guidance and exemplifies its emphasis on student support services.
Recently named one of the top 10 finalists for the 2015 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, Hostos offers 27 associate degree programs and two certificate programs that facilitate easy transfer to The City University of New York’s (CUNY) four-year colleges or baccalaureate studies at other institutions. The College has an award-winning Division of Continuing Education & Workforce Development that offers professional development courses and certificate-bearing workforce training programs. Hostos is part of CUNY, the nation’s leading urban public university, which serves more than 480,000 students at 24 colleges.