Roslindale's Lepore Earns Model UN Honors for Catholic Memorial

Ryan Lepore of Roslindale, a junior at the Catholic Memorial School, earned an honorable mention award at the Boston College Model United Nations Conference held on December 1 on the Chestnut Hill campus.

Lepore, who has earned acclaim for CM’s Model UN team in the past two years, earned his honor for representing an historical figure on the British Cabinet as it debated the “Irish Question” in the late 1990s. Along with freshman Joe McCauley, Lepore was one of only a few students of the 200 assembled from 12 schools to be honored for his leadership in committee.

The conference’s guest speaker, former Boston police commissioner Kathleen O’Toole, addressed the delegates on the issues facing Ireland and Britain today.

"This effort represented our best performance at a major college conference, as our program continues to improve,” said Model UN coach Vin Bradley. “Hosting our own conference in November helped our students gain in skill and confidence. The ability to interact with Kathleen O'Toole at this conference, a distinguished public servant and participant of history in Northern Ireland, offered an incredible learning opportunity for our students."

Lepore, who has participated in every conference since his sophomore year, is thrilled with the team’s start this season. "Every conference we're going now, we're getting more practice and experience as a team," Lepore said. "Most of all, we're gaining confidence, which is the key thing in there."