Reported by Diana Zhang
On March 14, 2025, two members of the Newtown AYLUS group hosted and presented information about two common high school extracurriculars from 7:15 PM to 8:15 PM. Rhianna Zhang shared information about competitive speech and debate, while Diana Zhang presented about Model United Nations.
During her presentation, Rhianna explained the benefits of participating in speech and debate, drawing from her personal experience and connecting with the audience. She explained the difference between the types of competitive debate and speech events, providing examples of each and different tournaments students commonly participate and debate in. Rhianna ended off her presentation by sharing some resources and explaining how students interested in speech and debate can begin their journey, providing a variety of resources and possible pathways to start.
After Rhianna’s presentation, Diana began her exhibition by introducing the United Nations and its function, followed by an explanation of Model UN itself. She explained the different types of conferences students can participate in, going over a simplified version of committee procedure and explaining each step of the process. She defined the benefits of MUN, and finished her presentation by sharing different resources to begin students’ MUN journey.
Following the presentations, the members answered all questions thoroughly and to the best of their abilities, providing personal anecdotes in their responses. Members who participated were Rhianna Zhang (1 hour) and Diana Zhang (1 hour).