By Michael Coughlin Jr.
Fatima Baoussouh and Erta Ismahili, two juniors at Revere High School (RHS), were two of more than 1,500 students who attended last weekend’s Harvard Model Congress (HMC) Boston conference, where they both were presented with awards.
Baoussouh won an honorable mention award, while Ismahili won the best delegate award at the four-day conference HMC’s website says is “the nation’s oldest government simulation conference run exclusively by undergraduates at Harvard College.”
RHS took a total of 28 students to the conference, which has the students involved role-play as different types of members of the government in a plethora of committees and participate in different situations like debates, press conferences, and much more, according to HMC’s website.
“Through a variety of congressional committees covering a broad spectrum of pressing federal issues, and a diverse collection of Special Program committees highlighting other aspects of the US government, HMC strives to provide a stimulating learning environment that fosters individual growth and group education,” reads HMC’s website.
In addition to its Boston Conference, HMC has conferences in San Francisco, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe.
Further, HMC offers scholarship and mentoring programs, and RHS is considered a mentoring school that allows students to receive preparation for the event and to attend it for free.
While Baoussouh and Ismahili may have had different experiences and won different awards at the event, they both acknowledged that the recognition they received has done wonders for their confidence.
“Winning the award made me feel really accomplished. After receiving the award, I feel like I gained the confidence to do anything else that I was too afraid to put effort into,” said Baoussouh.
Ismahili, who also won best delegate at last year’s event, not only echoed Baoussouh’s sentiments regarding confidence, but she also thought that it spoke to the power of students in Revere.
“Winning Best Delegate has not only proven to me my own ability to speak with confidence but also the power that students from Revere can possess,” said Ismahili.
“Being able to compete dutifully and win as an RHS student makes me proud and hopeful of the power that Revere students are truly capable of,” she added.
As mentioned the award winners did have different experiences at the event in that they were a part of different committees.
For example, Baoussouh was on the media committee and would go to other committees and interview members to learn about what was going on, eventually writing up some stories.
“It was really fun, and I enjoyed having the freedom to observe anything I found interesting or something I was passionate about,” said Baoussouh.
As for Ismahili she represented Kevin Cramer of North Dakota in the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. In her role, Ismahili collaborated with others in her committee to develop bills for two topics — the Homelessness Crisis and Fair Housing.
“I helped create and present bills regarding aid for homeless veterans, as well as supporting a federal down-payment voucher program,” she said.
Ismahili also went in depth regarding her opinion about the importance of collaborating with others and working “across the aisle.”
“I always love the ability to collaborate across differences and truly debate in good faith. While some fellow Senators took the approach of being unwilling to collaborate across the aisle, I found myself engaging with multiple different viewpoints to create truly broad and impactful pieces of legislation,” she later added.
In addition to her work with the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Ismahili said she was honored to be chosen to give a speech at the event’s scholarship reception, which can be viewed in its entirety at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Nde5NaEnJjq0DdpAznIxnSdD66PwsgiG/view?usp=sharing.
Ismahili explained that the speech centers on her “experience as a first-generation low-income competitor,” an experience that she described as difficult to navigate.
Ultimately, not only did Baoussouh and Ismahili receive tremendous recognition and enjoy their time at the conference, but there is no doubt that this experience will help them in whatever they decide to pursue in the future.
“Since I was required to talk to so many people, I gained the ability to talk comfortably with people that I’ve never talked to before and keep the conversation flowing. This can be a helpful skill in both my social, academic, and work-life because it will be easier to make connections,” said Baoussouh. “HMC Boston, and any conference I do in relation to politics and public speaking, has truly allowed me to find my confidence and build the skills I need to serve my community. While I’m unsure of the exact path I want to take, politics is definitely in my future,” said Ismahili.
