MIDDLETOWN – Mater Dei Prep and the students in its Global Leaders program participated in a United Nations flag unveiling ceremony at the high school Feb. 15. During the event the school accepted a United Nations flag that hung in the office of Pathways to Peace founder and president Avon Mattison, who died in October and served as a mentor to numerous Mater Dei students. The flag symbolizes the unique bond between the United Nations and Mater Dei Prep’s Global Leaders program.

Pathways To Peace is a United Nations nongovernmental organization (NGO). Several dignitaries from the United Nations participated in the ceremony, including Ray Anderson, United Nations representative; Lindy Crescitelli, United Nations representative and chairperson of the Gandhi-King Season for Non-Violence Conference; and Marlenis Rosa, United Nations representative.

Others in attendance included Ibrahim Sharif, former New Jersey Martin Luther King commissioner; Rinor Jani of Albania, a representative of Pathways to Peace to the United Nations and member of the U.N. Department of Global Communications Youth Steering Committee; and retired Judge Daniel D’Alessandro, among others.

Mater Dei’s Global Leaders program partners with the United Nations, with students regularly attending and speaking at U.N. conferences centered on the organization’s Sustainable Development Goals.

MDP students played a prominent role at last summer’s U.N. High Level Political Forum. Pathways To Peace was selected to present “Healing Our World by Healing Ourselves: Lessons Learned through the Pandemic. An Intergenerational Perspective on Advancing Justice, Inclusion and Peace.” Mater Dei students led the conference with their video, “Why Our Voices Matter,” as they expressed their concerns about healing and sustainable solutions. The video amplified the voices of Mater Dei senior Tyler Malik Ismail and sophomores Mary Kate Brew, Dylan Coleman, Oliva Crowe, Abigail O’Sullivan, Mark Paone, Mia Rodriguez, Cathrine Volk and Gianna Wohanka.

During a ceremony Feb. 15, Mater Dei Prep accepted a United Nation’s flag that previously hung in the office of NGO Pathways To Peace. Photo by Wayne Nolan

George Anthony, director of the MDP’s Global Leaders program chaired the event. “Much of what we do here at Mater Dei Prep is a reflection of Avon’s beauty and leadership,” he said.

“This past October, the United Nations and Peace Communities throughout the world lost a true messenger of peace in Pathways To Peace Founder and president Avon Mattison. Over the past seven years, Avon has served as an inspirational mentor to numerous Mater Dei Prep students. Some of our students have gone on to officer positions within the United Nations, serve on the Pathways To Peace governing board and become active Peace Advocates.”

The ceremony included a tribute video to Mattison and a pre-recorded message from Pathways To Peace co-founder Joanie Cardelli and Pathways To Peace executive director Tezikiah Gabriel, student reflections and more.

After having time to reflect on the ceremony, Veronica Bucknor, a Mater Dei Prep freshman, said, “Yesterday, for me, was an experience that I will never forget.”

“The meeting didn’t feel like I was sitting down with a whole bunch of civil and human rights representatives, it felt like I was surrounded by a family,” she said. “One very strong and loving family.”

Bucknor said her favorite part of the event was after the ceremony when she and other students interviewed Sharif. “To be able to sit in his presence was enough, let alone being able to ask him my question. I was almost moved to tears by some of Mr. Sharif’s responses.”

After the interview, Bucknor said Sharif told her something she will never forget. “He shook my hand and said, ‘You the quiet one… but the most powerful one.’ This was in my head the rest of the day because it reminded me that I don’t necessarily have to have the loudest voice in the room. I can be quiet and change the whole dynamic.”

“I did not know Ms. Mattison,” said Kathy McLaughlin, chairman of the MDP board of trustees, at the ceremony. “I read about her accomplishments and I was impressed and inspired and stunned by what she accomplished. I realize that many peacebuilders are mourning her loss. The way I view it – and I hope you will view it – she’s left a living legacy among Mater Dei students and others through her mentorship and inspiration through her Pathways To Peace organization and that’s critically important to us.”

“The messages of the speakers were particularly powerful yesterday,” said freshman Quinn Caselo. They “spoke from the heart,” he said, noting the majority of them agree “the change is in our generation, and that it begins with us younger people. And that has a significant impact be- cause it reminds us that if we work hard enough, we can be the change we want to see in the world.”

Additional reporting by Elizabeth Wulfhorst

This article originally appeared in the Feb. 17-23, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times. Online edition