Academic Decathletes Meet U.N. Ambassador

As the national runners-up in the Academic Decathlon, the El Camino Real High School team knew a lot about the United Nations in theory.

On Thursday--graduation night at El Camino Real and many other San Fernando Valley high schools--the team met the United States ambassador to the U.N. in person.

Madeleine K. Albright visited with the team--coincidentally all graduating seniors--for about half an hour in a private room before she delivered the guest speech at the school’s commencement.

Albright was supposed to show up to ask questions as part of a panel during the city’s academic decathlon championships in November. But because of the federal government shutdown, she said she was unable to come.

“You know more about the U.N. than I do,” Albright joked with the students. The United Nations was the subject of the Super Quiz, one part of the decathlon.

“How did you enjoy the whole event?” she asked the students about the yearlong academic competition that culminated with El Camino’s narrow loss in April to the J. Frank Dobie High School team from Pasadena, Texas.

“It was a great deal of time and effort, but we pulled through,” Eldar Broski, one of the students, told the ambassador.

The students asked Albright about her work representing the United States at the world organization, particularly wondering who writes her speeches, some of which they have read.

She usually writes the first drafts and works with speech writers to refine them, Albright told the students.

After being lobbied by school district officials, Albright made the visit partly because her sister, Kathy Silva, is a former Los Angeles teacher and also because she knew the United Nations was a significant part of the students’ studies through the whole year, said Judy Combs, California state director for the Academic Decathlon.

For Sarah Sabolek, an 18-year-old team member who wants to study political science in college, the visit was particularly interesting.

“She’s done everything that I dream of doing,” she said. “To have met her is actually amazing.

“I feel a little bit undeserving,” added Justin Weaver, 17.

El Camino’s commencement was just one of 17 ceremonies around the San Fernando Valley on Thursday as about 7,000 students graduated from Valley public high schools.

Sylmar High School’s graduation is tonight.

Of the 25,938 seniors who started school districtwide in September, about 96% will have turned their tassels as part of the Class of 1996, officials said. The others moved, dropped out, failed to pass or graduated early, officials said.