Marco Peticca travels the country to learn about world around him

There is no question that LSHS senior Marco Peticca is the epitome of a cosmopolitan student. Noted across the district for holding fast to his Irish roots, Peticca recently embarked on an adventure that proves not only his comfort for travelling but also his desire to learn more about culture from all over the world.

Peticca (back row, second from left) recently attended a Model UN tour

Peticca’s involvement in Lampeter-Strasburg’s Model United Nations Club allowed him to participate in a speech-writing contest in which his dissertation was recognized by the Odd Fellows Organization. In turn, this organization sponsored a two-week tour of the US and Canada for Marco and the other contest- winning students across the US, Canada, and parts of Europe. This tour allowed the students to visit major cities such as Gettysburg, Washington D.C., Arlington, Philadelphia, New York City, Salem, Ottawa, Ontario, Watertown, and Niagara Falls in order to learn more about the United Nations and international politics. Peticca mentions that his favorite destination in the tour was in fact New York, which is the location of the United Nations Headquarters. While the city contains incredible diversity and beautiful sites, as described by Peticca, the tour of the UN building itself included meetings with guest speakers and the privilege to witness the voting of the Iran Deal.

Pettica (second from left) was a runner-up in his section for
a speech contest

This so-called UN Pilgrimage is meant not only as a touring experience but an interactive learning experience.   Over the course of the trip, Marco wrote a paragraph a day about the Millennium Development Goals. At the end of the trip, he pieced together all of the paragraphs to create a sophisticated and meaningful speech to perform in front of a panel of judges, competing against six groups of twenty kids for an academic scholarship. Peticca did not win, but was a runner up in his section, which is an exceptional feat in itself. 

“I put a lot of time and effort into my speech, and while I didn’t win, I was ecstatic with the opportunity to compete with very intelligent people,” Peticca says.

Over the two weeks that he was gone, Marco befriended several Dutch students, learning as much as possible about culture and language in the Netherlands. His desire to minor in German fueled his interest in the topic, and he continues to keep in touch with his friends. 

Peticca (left) hopes to study political science
at the College of Wooster

“The trip gave me so many good memories and and so many connections. This was a great opportunity to explore my options in the field of Political Science," Peticca says.

He plans to study Political Science at the College of Wooster starting in the fall of 2016, meanwhile continuing to play lacrosse. In the future, he aspires to live in Germany where he may begin his career as a United Nations delegate. Peticca highly recommends this trip to anyone who is looking to broaden his/her view points on the world we live in.



--Mary Pettica, LSNews.org Guest Writer

Edited: AVL