A network of connections led Fiona Simek ’26 to George School, which in turn led to her involvement in world politics and human rights.

“My parents actually never planned on sending me to a Friends school,” Fiona said. She grew up going to Quaker Meeting and had a strong upbringing in Quaker values, which drew her family to explore other educational opportunities.

“My mom’s cousin went to Buckingham Friends School and my dad immediately fell in love with the community, as did my mom. It was pretty magical for me,” Fiona shared.

“I think after going to Buckingham Friends School, I knew that I wanted to stay in a Quaker school environment. I really appreciate having a community that's close-knit and has values that align with my own.”

Starting as a freshman, Fiona was not exactly sure where she fit into the community, but was eager to get involved.

“I feel like any freshman goes through sort of like this transition period. We’re trying to find friends and I questioned if this was the right place for me.”

Fiona’s first step to getting involved was joining clubs. When teacher Heather Mooney advised her to try Model UN, she quickly flourished and uncovered her interest in human rights.

Now as a sophomore, Fiona most recently opened up the very first GEOMUN, a conference created by the club for middle school students in the local community. For the conference, Fiona took the lead on External Affairs, in charge of all communication with prospective schools.

“It was her enthusiasm for bringing this opportunity to middle schoolers that helped us attract 30 delegates to our first conference,” noted advisor Heather Mooney. “Fiona was an amazing diplomat who connected with all the Buckingham Friends students.”

Fiona got to share the day with middle school students including her 6th grade sister, who she hopes follows in her footsteps in a few years.

The event included a mock-Model UN conference to allow younger students to become familiar with the program. George School Director of Campus Safety Mark Lomax served as their keynote speaker. Mark shared his experience working for security at the UN before joining George School.

Fiona and her classmates aimed to get middle schoolers excited about participating in Model UN and solving global issues. “We wanted to show them what a Model UN conference would look like, prep them, and hopefully they will come to George School and continue on at the high school level.”

The theme of the conference was “Strengthening Humanity,” and participants were tasked with the issue of climate refugees.

“It took a lot for them to come up and talk one by one, on the spot about really big things,” she shared. “I admired their confidence to come and do it.”

“Fiona’s passion for addressing global issues and inequalities comes out in all that she does,” shared Heather. In addition to Model UN, Fiona is an Amnesty Vice-President, a member of the Robert F. Kennedy Youth Advisory Board human rights organization, and dancer in the GS Dance Company.

“Being involved in human rights makes me a more aware and empathetic person. It gives me perspective; if I have a grade in a class I don't love, I can step back for a second, see what's happening in the world, see what I can do there, and then come back with a clearer mind,” she reflected.

As Vice-President of Amnesty, Fiona set out to grow the club for the future. “My goal for becoming a leader was expanding the club. We had a lot of new members join, which I’m super excited about.”

Amnesty hosted events throughout the year, supporting issues the members were passionate about, including a Banned Book Bingo and a bake sale to raise funds for NSLA and Abortion as a Human Right in support of Planned Parenthood.

“Being a part of these organizations makes my community a more friendly place.”