TOWN OF TONAWANDA, NY (WKBW) — Kenmore East High School in the Town of Tonawanda is celebrating a top honor as its Model UN team captured first place last week in the Western New York competition.
It is not the first time the team has taken the top spot. It was their 20th time winning, and it has all been under the leadership of a beloved teacher.
Social studies teacher Christopher Knab has led the school's Model UN team to success since he founded it. But now, after 30 years, he is getting ready to retire at the end of this school year.
WATCH: Kenmore East Model UN team wins 20th competition as founder prepares to retire
I met with the teacher and his winning student team to talk about the milestone.
Just last week, the team won first place for the 20th time, but Knab humbly said it is all about the students.
"The students are doing it, and not me," Knab said. "Asked them to do their best. And they know I mean it. And so, when I tell them, 'Go do this research, when you come back to me, I better be impressed,' I'm impressed."
When Kenmore East Principal Trevor Brown was a freshman at the school in 1996, he asked Knab to create a UN team.
"And now that little boy is my boss," Knab said.
"It's never been about winning the competition for Mr. Knab. It's about the whole student, right? It's always been focused on them, never about him and his legacy. It's always about how students learn and grow as human beings?" Brown said. "From the day he started here till now. That energy has not gone away."
WATCH: Kenmore East Model UN team wins 20th competition as founder prepares to retire
Students on the current Model UN team reflected on his impact.
"When we got called down because we won, he just burst through the doors," Abigail Banaszak, a senior, said. "He made us know that we were all able to win, and he made us make sure that we were confident in ourselves."
"I'd like to say I'm really proud of what he's done for this team over the last 20 years," Logan Fey, a senior, said.
A beloved and energetic teacher who has always been able to engage his students in learning about history while having fun.
"From the day he started here till now. That energy has not gone away," Brown said.
At the end of this school year, Knab will say goodbye.
"Will retire from this room. And it's bittersweet," Knab reflected. "I guess the moments between me and the students are the most important moments I've had. I've loved every second of it."
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