FARMINGTON — A Farmington High School student is one of eight New Mexico high school students who will travel to Poland as the only Americans participating in an international mock trial program.

Farmington High School senior Hannah Faulkner will traveling to Krzyzowa, Poland, to attend the 2015 Model International Criminal Court mock trials from Feb. 17-22. She will be joined by other high school students from Germany, Poland and Israel.

The Model International Criminal Court is a simulation of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, located in the Netherlands.

The New Mexico Human Rights Project selected the eight students from across the state after applicants submitted a 500-word essay about international politics and the role the U.S. plays in international criminal courts, followed by interviews conducted with finalists selected by the organization.

Faulkner said she loves to travel and thought the program would be a great opportunity to do something new in a place she hasn’t visited before.

“I think it’ll be a very good challenge for me,” Faulkner said. “It’s really important because there are so many countries and so many people that don’t live under the protection of the law. Sometime, intervention by other countries (is) necessary in order to protect human rights.”

During the program, the students will take part in the re-enactment of three historical cases, including the Rwanda Tribunal, the Nuremberg Tribunals and the Yugoslavia Tribunal.

Working with fellow students from other countries, participants will learn and perform the roles of judge, prosecutor, defender and journalist in the three historical war crime cases.

Faulkner said the students will be learning from attorneys and journalists who will discuss the cases and how to document them before holding a re-enactment of the trials.

FHS assistant principal Seth Martinez said he brought up the program to a number of students and was happy to see the first San Juan County representative in the program come from his school.

“She’s definitely the best candidate from this area,” Martinez said. “It’s obviously a wonderful reflection on Farmington High School.”

Faulkner said she was eager to work with the international students taking part in the program and hopes the experience will help her in pursuing a degree in broadcast journalism.

“I think that it broadens my view of the world. I think learning about human rights and affairs will always be relevant things,” Faulkner said.

Joshua Kellogg covers education forThe Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4527 and jkellogg@daily-times.com. Follow him @jkelloggdt on Twitter.