Shady Side Academy freshman Nichole Poltinnikov was recently accepted into the All-American Model UN program. She will attend three of the Model UN's Virtual Summer Academies, participate in numerous conferences and travel with the team domestically and internationally.

All-American Model UN accepts 20 students into the program each year out of more than 2,000 applicants. Poltinnikov will remain with the program throughout high school, and she plans to use the experience she will gain while representing Shady Side on the Senior School's Model UN team at various conferences over the next three years.

The All-American Model UN Summer Academies include the Crisis Academy (June 22-27), the NGO Academy (July 13-18) and the Diplomacy Academy (July 27-Aug. 1). Redesigned for a virtual experience, students will participate in interactive workshops in the morning and simulations in the afternoon, then receive personalized feedback after each day to improve their performance. In addition, students must complete an academic project corresponding to the Academy title consisting of a 2,000-word abstract and presentation. Learn more.

Poltinnikov is also a member of the Senior School Speech & Debate Team and has competed in three state and local online events this spring in the Lincoln Douglas Debate category. In a California-based online debate May 23-24, she placed 16th out of 49 competitors debating the topic "Resolved: States Out to Eliminate Their Nuclear Arsenals." She also competed in two events in the online Ronald Reagan Great Communicator Debate Series, placing in the top 16 after seven rounds of debating in the Northeast Regional event and competing for five rounds in the other event on the topic "Resolved: States Are More Effective at Legislating to Improve the Environment than the Federal Government."

Congratulations, Nichole!