From March 2nd-4th, Isaac Ortiz (10th) attended the YMCA State Model United Nations conference in Atlanta. As a member of the YMCA of Coastal Georgia’s Teen Achievers program (an extracurricular activity), Isaac has been involved in leadership development sessions and college preparedness workshops since 2013. Because of his good academic standing and leadership experience with SCPS Boy Scout Troop 11, Isaac was invited to submit a delegate application and country resolution for consideration in the statewide Model UN. Isaac was selected in January and represented the nation of Qatar as its Ambassador during the conference. He was the only SCPS student in attendance. As a participant, he also visited the King Center in Atlanta and had a nice dinner with fellow delegates at the Hard Rock Café.
As a delegate of Qatar, Isaac drafted a resolution that called upon China to stop its aggression to Qatar and its neighbors in the South China Sea. He investigated the conflict, drafted policy recommendations, prepared a global village display for a conference exhibit, and attended the sessions in a traditional Qatari costume. Isaac’s resolution was among the top 1/3 ranked resolutions by 120 other student delegates from across the state of Georgia. Isaac negotiated and debated his resolution during the open forum, winning more favorable votes than non-favorable ones and approval of his proposal. Isaac also won best, or most authentic, traditional national costume.
Isaac said this learning experience “would not have been possible without the encouragement of my teachers, especially Coach Wood, my 9th grade government teacher and my history teachers.” In addition to scouting and Teen Achievers, Isaac is a starting player for the soccer team and is a member of the concert band at SCPS.