Mater Dei Prep senior selected for prestigious United Nations youth committee
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
From staff reports
Katelyn Grano is making quite a name for herself in the arena of international peacebuilding and leadership, and she hasn’t even graduated from high school yet.
The Mater Dei Prep, Middletown, senior was selected in May as one of only 10 members of the prestigious United Nations Department of Public Information’s NGO Youth Representatives Steering Committee.
The Committee, established in 2009, serves as an advocacy platform to unite young people from the ages of 18 to 32 working within or leading non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or youth organizations that work with the Department of Public Information, and focus on issues included in the United Nations agenda. The body advises the Department on strategies to engage young people around activities related to the work of the United Nations.
Grano has been a representative of the UN NGO Pathways to Peace, an international peacebuilding, educational and consulting organization working to make peace a reality through projects at the local and global levels.
“As someone who has a great appreciation for the United Nations and all of the work that it does to better the world, I am honored to have been selected a member of the DPI NGO Youth Representatives Steering Committee,” Grano said. “I am eager to start my work under the secretary general, António Guterres, and to see what we can do to get more youth involved in global issues.”
Her appointment to the committee comes along with appointments of other youth representing a variety of organizations, ranging from Rotary to the City College of New York. The organization she represents, Pathways to Peace, was launched as a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization in 1983, and works with the UN Economic and Social Council, the UN Center for Human Rights, the UN Center for Human Settlements, UNESCO, UNICEF and other leading global NGOs and organizations.
“I am extremely grateful to be given this amazing opportunity at such a young age,” Grano said.
On her home campus in Middletown, Grano has been a member of the Mater Dei Prep Global Leaders Institute, which seeks to prepare students for success in global situations. Participants learn communication, mediation and social skills, partnering with the UN and other organizations to put what they’ve learned to good use. According to the school, students regularly attend and speak at UN conferences and meetings centered on topics ranging from education to gender equality, climate action to clean energy. And they can receive certifications in mediation, community building and leadership.
George Anthony, head of the Global Leaders Institute, could not say enough about Grano and her commitment.
“Katelyn is an extraordinary individual who understands altruism on so many levels. Peace building requires the dedication of pouring your heart and your efforts into creating positive change,” he said.
“Through her work … she has demonstrated that willingness toward her community and the environment. We will benefit from her efforts as a result of her selection to the DPI/NGO Executive Steering Committee. The best is yet to come.”
Grano was the lead youth officer for the Institute, and was also recently selected to serve as co-chair of the 67th UN Department of Public Information’s NGO Conference. With the theme “We the Peoples … Together Finding Global Solutions for Global Problems,” the conference will be held Aug. 22-23 at the UN headquarters in New York City, with some 3,000 representatives attending from around the world.
“The opportunities that both Mr. Anthony and the United Nations have given me are irreplaceable and have given me so many new experiences and knowledge for college and my future career,” Grano said.
Anthony, who serves as the primary representative for Pathways to Peace, spoke about the Global Leaders Institute and its objectives.
“This program is designed to bring out the leader that lives in all of us and to provide students with the skills to become effective leaders into the 21st century,” he said.
For more information about the Mater Dei Prep Global Leaders Institute, call 732.671.9100 or visit materdeiprep.org.
Correspondent David Kilby contributed to this report.
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From staff reports
Katelyn Grano is making quite a name for herself in the arena of international peacebuilding and leadership, and she hasn’t even graduated from high school yet.
The Mater Dei Prep, Middletown, senior was selected in May as one of only 10 members of the prestigious United Nations Department of Public Information’s NGO Youth Representatives Steering Committee.
The Committee, established in 2009, serves as an advocacy platform to unite young people from the ages of 18 to 32 working within or leading non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or youth organizations that work with the Department of Public Information, and focus on issues included in the United Nations agenda. The body advises the Department on strategies to engage young people around activities related to the work of the United Nations.
Grano has been a representative of the UN NGO Pathways to Peace, an international peacebuilding, educational and consulting organization working to make peace a reality through projects at the local and global levels.
“As someone who has a great appreciation for the United Nations and all of the work that it does to better the world, I am honored to have been selected a member of the DPI NGO Youth Representatives Steering Committee,” Grano said. “I am eager to start my work under the secretary general, António Guterres, and to see what we can do to get more youth involved in global issues.”
Her appointment to the committee comes along with appointments of other youth representing a variety of organizations, ranging from Rotary to the City College of New York. The organization she represents, Pathways to Peace, was launched as a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization in 1983, and works with the UN Economic and Social Council, the UN Center for Human Rights, the UN Center for Human Settlements, UNESCO, UNICEF and other leading global NGOs and organizations.
“I am extremely grateful to be given this amazing opportunity at such a young age,” Grano said.
On her home campus in Middletown, Grano has been a member of the Mater Dei Prep Global Leaders Institute, which seeks to prepare students for success in global situations. Participants learn communication, mediation and social skills, partnering with the UN and other organizations to put what they’ve learned to good use. According to the school, students regularly attend and speak at UN conferences and meetings centered on topics ranging from education to gender equality, climate action to clean energy. And they can receive certifications in mediation, community building and leadership.
George Anthony, head of the Global Leaders Institute, could not say enough about Grano and her commitment.
“Katelyn is an extraordinary individual who understands altruism on so many levels. Peace building requires the dedication of pouring your heart and your efforts into creating positive change,” he said.
“Through her work … she has demonstrated that willingness toward her community and the environment. We will benefit from her efforts as a result of her selection to the DPI/NGO Executive Steering Committee. The best is yet to come.”
Grano was the lead youth officer for the Institute, and was also recently selected to serve as co-chair of the 67th UN Department of Public Information’s NGO Conference. With the theme “We the Peoples … Together Finding Global Solutions for Global Problems,” the conference will be held Aug. 22-23 at the UN headquarters in New York City, with some 3,000 representatives attending from around the world.
“The opportunities that both Mr. Anthony and the United Nations have given me are irreplaceable and have given me so many new experiences and knowledge for college and my future career,” Grano said.
Anthony, who serves as the primary representative for Pathways to Peace, spoke about the Global Leaders Institute and its objectives.
“This program is designed to bring out the leader that lives in all of us and to provide students with the skills to become effective leaders into the 21st century,” he said.
For more information about the Mater Dei Prep Global Leaders Institute, call 732.671.9100 or visit materdeiprep.org.
Correspondent David Kilby contributed to this report.
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