On March 16th through 18th, the Bardstown Y-Club participated in KUNA: The Kentucky United Nations Assembly. At the conference, Bardstown took center stage, quite literally. Senior Olivia Walton served as the Secretary General of the program, she oversaw all 700 students in attendance and presided over the general assembly. Walton is the first Bardstown student to be elected to the executive role in school history! While Bardstown had two students elected as presiding officers last year, they didn’t win the position in the premier role as Walton did. Walton was elected to the role last year, beating out several other candidates, most of whom then made up her team. As Secretary General, Olivia also had the responsibility to veto and sign resolutions brought to the conference by other schools.
Other Bardstown students also received accolades. Senior Sarah Spalding was elected to serve as a Vice President of Debate over the General Assembly, in her role she oversaw the 2nd day affairs including debate, discussion, and voting. Spalding originally served as a chair, someone who oversaw debate chambers, but was distinguished enough to oversee the larger program. Senior Edward Gutierrez-Muñoz received Outstanding Ambassador– an award given to the most outspoken and stately representatives at the conference. Gutierrez-Muñoz was an ambassador at the conference, meaning he was one of hundreds of students there for debate and discussion. Despite about 500 students in the general program, Gutierrez-Muñoz was still able to outperform them! While Walton presided over the main program, our students stood out greatly.
Behind closed doors in the special programs arena, Senior Ean Hill played a stellar role in the International Court of Justice Program. Hill participated as an attorney on the contingency case– an argument based on an actual case the ICJ heard. As an attorney, Hill performed his role solo, whereas most schools had teams of multiple students. Hill was recognized for the showcase round, his performance so well that he was selected to proceed to a public debate that all could attend. After the showcase round, Hill unfortunately lost the case, but won Outstanding Advocate Team and Outstanding Showcase Advocate. These awards recognize the attorney(s) with the highest points scored, and those that advance to the final stage.
