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Model UN Has Another Record Year; 340+ High School Delegates Compete A record number of more than 340 high school delegates competed March 2 and 3 on the FGCU campus for more than $60,000 in scholarships and awards. This year's event surpassed last year's competition, which was the biggest in its history, when 250 students competed. SWFLMUN is an academic program of the Naples Council on World Affairs (NCWA), engaging students from Collier, Lee, Charlotte and other area counties in rigorous, student-led debate on today’s most pressing global challenges. NCWA administers the competition, funds the awards, provides judges and other staff. For more than three decades, the program has helped cultivate informed, confident and globally minded young leaders. More than 120 community volunteers—including committee chairs, judges, registrars and position paper reviewers—power the event each year, contributing thousands of hours to ensure a high-quality experience for all delegates.
A number of prestigious awards were presented at the event, including the Mo Winograd Special Competition Award, which this year focused on the teen mental health crisis. First place winner, with the $2,000 Howard and Nancy Cohen Award, was Cypress Lake High School in Lee County. Also placing in that competition were 2nd Place ($1,500): Rollie Crawford Award, Donahue Academy; 3rd Place ($1,300): Patrick Mattingly & Jill Force Award, Port Charlotte High School; 4th Place ($1,000): Bob & Erna Place Award, Cardinal Mooney High School; 5th Place ($500): Linda & Adam Crescenzi Award, Gulf Coast High School. The NCWA and FGCU Fellows Director Award and $500 was awarded to Dr. Ally Zhou for her work with the Fulbright Fellows program. The Model UN Faculty Coach Award and $500 went to Dr. Ronald Young at the Canterbury School. The Lynn Knox SWFLMUN Coach of the Year Award and $750, sponsored by Rollie Crawford, was awarded to Elizabeth Smith of Cardinal Mooney High School.
Howard Cohen, left, presented the Mo Winograd Special Competition Award and a check for $2,000 to the Cypress Lake High School team that placed first in the 2026 competition for their presentation on teen mental health. From left, after Howard, are Ava Ngo, Gus Lessinger, Mya Jenkinson, John Harris, Graham Harris, Valeska Perez, Carter Gurule and Danylo Zacharievich.
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Students who received summer scholarships in 2025 and 2026 and also participated in Southwest Florida Model UN competition stand with 2026 MUN keynote speaker Andrea Bedoya, center, in black suit. The SWFLMUN annual conference was held March 2-3 on the FGCU campus.
Judges for the 2026 Model UN competition gather for a photograph. Major Winners at 2026 MUN Catherine Saadeh of Gulf Coast High School was named recipient of the Ralph This top prize in the annual conference recognizes the student who has competed in the most Southwest Florida Model UN events. In addition to receiving the top award at Model UN, Catherine was the recipient of the only summer scholarship to Oxford University awarded in 2025.
The NCWA Mimi Gregory Award in the amount of $2,500 was won by Arya Rajaram of Gulf Coast High School based on superlative performance over a multi-year period from someone from a delegation of 16 or more. The Amb. Gregor Zore Memorial Top Schools Awards went to Gulf Coast, Cypress Lake and Aubrey Rogers High Schools in that order for the larger delegations. Barron Collier, Bishop Verot and Babcock High Schools won honors for the smaller delegations. MUN teams from these schools won $1,000 for first place, $750 for second place, and $500 for third place in both categories. |
Keynote speaker was Andrea Bedoya, a 2020 FGCU graduate whose early career has already spanned four continents and a wide range of global service experiences. She is U.S. Deputy Trek Director at buildOn, an international nonprofit dedicated to breaking cycles of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations through service and education. She coordinates service-learning programs that partner U.S. students with under-resourced communities around the world. 
J. Bunche Award, accompanied by a check for $5,500. 
Other winners in 2026 Southwest Florida Model UN Competition |
Other winners included: Student Delegate Caucus Awards – Awarded by the judges to delegates whose special leadership and team building skills “behind the scenes” were particularly noteworthy in helping to forge agreement across divides and resolve divergent positions within committees. (Maximum of one delegate per committee) - $250 each winner:
The Mo Winograd Outstanding Delegate Award, presented to the delegate with the best single year performance who is not a student at one of the top three schools. This delegate need not be a senior but must have submitted a position paper - $1,500 donated by Robert and Joelle Roussel: Azriella Contreras, Canterbury School Two winners for each of the following awards, one from a larger delegation Best Single Year Performance by a Junior – Awarded to the junior who garners the most points this year (Position paper required) - $1,000 each donated by Marianne Gymer and Howard and Nancy Cohen:
Best Single Year Performance by a Sophomore – Awarded to the sophomore who garners the most points this year. (Position paper required) - $1,000 each donated by Gulati Family Foundation and Howard and Nancy Cohen:
Best Single Year Performance by a Freshman – Awarded to the freshman who garners the most points this year. (Position paper required) - $1,000 each donated by Rollie Crawford and Marianne Gymer:
Amb. Gregor Zore Memorial Top Schools Award – Awarded to the schools with the highest average delegate scores in this year’s competition. Donated by Edith Hunt, 1st place - $1,000 2nd place - $750 3rd place - $500 Larger Delegation: 1. Gulf Coast High School Smaller Delegation: 1. Barron Collier High School Multiyear Performance Awards – Awarded to seniors based on cumulative points earned by the recipients through all years of participation in SWFLMUN. A position paper and a minimum of two years of participation are mandatory. Larger delegations:
To access the 2026 SWFLMUN program booklet, click here. | Smaller delegations:
Position Paper Awards: 1st Place ($2,500) Barbara Markel Memorial Award, Cristina Marie Peterson, Cardinal Mooney High School; 2nd Place ($2,000) Ron Gymer Memorial Award, Stefany Saldana, North Fort Myers High School; 3rd Place ($1,500) Mark and Cathy Walchak Award, Azriela Contreras, Canterbury School; 4th Place ($1,000) Mary and James Gately Award, Ashley Chen, Gateway High School; 5th Place (tie) ($800) Wyman Family Foundation Awards, Ari Magas, Canterbury School and Luke Brown, Aubrey Rogers High School; 7th Place ($500) Mark Schwab Award; Lavya Patel, Gulf Coast High School; 8th Place ($400), Jan and Mike Johnson Award, Mary De Jesus, Port Charlotte High School; 9th Place ($300), Marvin & Helaine Lender Award, Ann Fulmer, Donahue Academy; 10th Place ($250), Judi Palay Award, Grace Guolke, Plant City High School Diana McGowen Most Improved School Award ($500, sponsored by the Purvis Family Fund), Bishop Verot Catholic High School, Coach Rob Schmidbauer Outstanding Team Leadership Awards ($1,000 each), Gateway High School, Bishop Verot High School and Cypress Lake High School Best in Committee Awards (“Gavel Awards”), awarded to the highest-scoring delegates in each committee. Winners receive a gavel and $1,000 prize (second place $500). Crisis Committee Awards are funded by the Bill Garvelink Memorial Crisis Management Fund, and Press Corps awards are funded by Janet Markel. Selected winners include:
International Monetary Fund & UNDESA: Isaac Garatejo, Gulf Coast High School, first place; Sahana Kanda, Gulf Coast High School, second place; and Giovanna Borges, Aubrey Rogers High School, third place UN Security Council: Arya Rajaram, Gulf Coast High School, first place; Gus Lessinger, Cypress Lake High School, second place World Trade Organization: Luke Brownlee, Gulf Coast High School, first place; Arnav Dabas, Gulf Coast High School, second place; and Talia Matten, Babcock Ranch High School, third place Climate Change (UNFCCC): Lavya Patel, Gulf Coast High School, first place; Naresh Ram, Gulf Coast High School, second place; Nakirra Fadael, Gulf Coast High School, third place Commission on the Status of Women: Samantha Fulcher, Gulf Coast High School, first place; Sofia Babbitt, Barron Collier High School, second place; Serenity Partridge, Gulf Coast High School, third place Press Corps: Giovanni Wallace, Cypress Lake High School, first place; and Isabella Mparaganda, Bishop Verot High School, second place Student Delegate Caucus Awards ($250): Recognizing exceptional leadership and collaboration: Catherine Saadeh, Gulf Coast High School; and John Harris, Cypress Lake High School |
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