Words: Charles Regnante

Through persistent work and determination, five Centennial students won awards at the Harvard Model Congress (HMC) in Boston this weekend. Ben Smith, Griffin Riddler, and Barry Plunkett won the “Outstanding Delegate” award, while Parth Contractor and Richard Vook won “Award of Excellence.” “I have never had so many students recognized, even when we had twenty or more delegates,” commented advisor Jim Zhe.

Winning these awards was no easy task. The delegates had to constantly participate in discussion, engage in drafting bills, and establish strong relationships in order to be handpicked from their committees, some of which contained 50 or 60 delegates, to win an award.

HMC is a four-day American government simulation at the Boston Sheraton Hotel, where over 12,000 delegates from all over the world tackle the most paramount of issues facing our nation as they undertake roles in the American government and beyond. Students get to participate in exciting and varied committees, ranging from the House and Senate, to special programs such as the Group of Twenty and The World Bank.