By Peyton Emily Boles
President Brandyn Peterson, Vice President Andrea Monsreal, and Secretary Treasurer-elect Destiny Witherspoon of the Brenau’s Mediation Team -better known as Team 2 to their competitors—returned Sunday with top honors from the University of Central Florida’s INADR Conflict Resolution Conciliator Tournament.
Andrea Monsreal earned 5th Place Overall Mediation Award, placing her alongside the best individual mediators in the competition. Brenau also secured 2nd Place Overall Team Mediators, awarded to the teams with the highest scoring ballots in this group, and 4th Place Outstanding Advocate/Client Team, given to the teams with the highest scoring ballots in that category.
President-elect Peyton Boles joined Team 14 as an alternate alongside University of Central Florida members Noah Hardee and Fellipe Fischer, who earned 3rd place for Advocate/Client Pair.
The team was coached by Brenau alumna and Conflict Resolution Program Advisory Board member Brooke Davidson, who currently works as a probate litigator with Steward Melvin & Frost, LLP. Department Chair and Head Coach Dr. Ken Frank attended the INADR tournament in Paris in his presidential role at the academy.
The competition involved three “mock mediation” rounds, where six students participated in mediation sessions based on fictionalized cases. These cases, known as Fact Patterns, typically involved two disputing parties—such as an insurance company refusing a policyholder’s claim. The conflicting parties were represented by advocates, who may be attorneys, union representatives, or other experts in legal fields. Clients and advocates are paired as teammates from the same school, while two mediators, from separate teams and schools, collaborate to promote reconciliation and productive conversation.
Peterson, Monsreal, and Witherspoon faced strong competition from prestigious institutions like Boston University and the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law. The tournament marked Peterson and Monsreal’s farewell to competitive mediation with Brenau University, as they will graduate this spring with Bachelor’s degrees in Conflict Resolution/Legal Studies and Political Science, respectively. While their excellent leader and fellowship will be missed by the team, they are very excited to see them both head towards bright futures as law students.
Looking ahead, Boles and Witherspoon are excited about their future roles and eagerly anticipate competing in an upcoming undergraduate INADR tournament, hosted by Boston University this fall.
Leave a Reply