Westfield students earn National Spanish Exam Scholarships

Based on last spring’s National Spanish Exam, multiple Westfield Area High School Spanish students were qualified to apply for scholarships awarded by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.  Only the top scoring student at each exam level is eligible to apply.   The application process is extensive and, in addition to the normal letters of recommendation, lists of extracurricular and community involvement and essays, it also requires students to create a video in Spanish with their teacher to highlight their Spanish skills.

Often, eligible students don’t go through the process to apply.  Although past seniors have been awarded monetary scholarships through this program, Westfield has never before had a student win the Global Citizen Scholarship awarded yearly to five sophomores nationwide or the Junior Immersion Scholarship awarded yearly to five juniors nationwide.

This year, a dedicated WAHS student in each level applied for these scholarships which will provide for a five-day (virtual) Spanish immersion program through the Concordia Language Villages in Minnesota this coming summer.  Both students were selected from a nationwide pool of applicants.

Emma Hamilton, daughter of Patrick and Tammy Hamilton, has been awarded the Global Citizenship Scholarship.  Trista Drew, daughter of Douglas and Bonnie Drew, has earned the Junior Immersion Scholarship.

This is an incredible honor and opportunity.  Congratulations to both of these girls and to their families.