The World Language Department would like to congratulate students from Ursuline Academy School who attained national recognition for their excellent performance on the 2022 National Spanish and French Examinations. 

Seventeen French students were awarded a medal for their performance in the French National Contest and 110 Spanish students were awarded a medal while 102 earned honorable mention for their performance on the National Spanish Exam.

Students from Ursuline School have a long history of high achievement on these exams and were taught by French teachers Camelia Benhayda, Amy Gilchrist and Sophie Greene; and Spanish teachers, Roxana Casco, Therese Naddaf, Martha Rico, Rosie Sonneborn, Scarlette Vargas, Maria Alejandra Wallace and Amanda York.

The National French Examination, or Le Grand Concours is administered each year in grades 6 through 12 and is sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French. Seventy-eight Ursuline Academy French students participated in the 2022 Contest, and seventeen students received medals for their outstanding scores. 

The National French Contest

Gold

• Anastacia Chu
• Reagan Montgomery

Silver

• Gracie Albritton
• Brooke Bergin
• Nicole Estrada
• Bronwyn Evans
• Elisa Fernandez
• Evan McCauley
• Carys O’Brien
• Fernanda Santos Burgoa Jourdain

Bronze

• Luna Konings
• Melina Lessing
• Allie Licygiewicz
• Emma Oscherwitz
• Abby Sanders
• Audrey Sloan
• Lauren Stanley

Honorable Mention

• Reagan Bachman
• Ava Bittner
• Genevieve Brainard
• Alice Dean
• Charity Foreman
• Audrey Frye
• Kylie Hanners
• Zoe Jing
• Ryan Luedtke
• Simone Mayega
• Madeline McClure
• Mags McKinney
• Miranda Moyse
• Penelope Naftis
• Amelia Rowes
• Chloe Smith
• Theresa Tran
• Jeannine Vaughan
• Dylan Weitzul
• Georgia Williamson
• Faith Wise
• Mae Wright
• Lauren Zulick

The National Spanish Examinations are administered each year in grades 6 through 12 and are sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. “Attaining a medal or honorable mention for any student on the National Spanish Examinations is very prestigious,” said Lisa Greenman, National Director of the Exams, “because the exams are the largest of their kind in the United States with over 73,000 students participating in 2022.” 

The National Spanish Contest

Gold

• Kathryn Bonneau
• Catherine Compton
• Caroline Cutchall
• Meredith Hazzard
• Katrina Lam
• Emma Morales
• Molly Nickols
• Carys O’Brien
• Macy Soderberg

Silver

• Margaret Armstrong
• Sabrina Benedetti
• Ryan Bomersbach
• Amelia Bruty
• Sophia Colbert
• Sophia Combs
• Ana Cordero
• Ella Kate DeWitt
• Abby Dondis
• Reagan Engleman
• Elaina Erxleben
• Elisa Fernandez
• Gable George
• Stephanie Guerrero
• Wenyue Hao
• Shelby Homan
• Kristen Inkman
• Nala LeBeauf
• Morgan Lemler
• Jamie Lim
• Kaylen Macedo
• Cora Manhaney
• Amelia Mappus
• Sarah Mathis
• Charlotte Meenan
• Ana Meza
• Maya Moreno
• Claire Nolan
• Erin O’Sullivan
• Katherine Robb
• Amanda Robb
• Ava Mychel Rodriguez
• Keerthana Sargunaraja
• Giana Schell
• Jordan Schwab
• Amy Sickler
• Emily Sisk
• Margaret Strand
• Celestine Theriot
• Ava Tomaselli
• Anne Marie Vance
• Chelsea Webber
• Kristen Wharton
• Sophia Wren
• Annie Zhu

Bronze

• Parker Adams
• Anasofia Alba
• Danica Bagayna
• Mia Bela
• Meredith Betz
• Olivia Blakelock
• Mary Borkowski
• Elizabeth Buckley
• Berkeley Bundy
• Susan Byrum
• Claire Cardenas
• Katherine Carey
• Biya Cham
• Hannah Davis
• Avery Dupre
• Jimena Estrada
• Ana Falconer
• Magdalena Fleischer
• Logan Foster
• Claire Garoutte
• Natalie Garison
• Meg Gilmore
• Riley Grant
• Camila Hanson
• Caroline Jackson
• Elizabeth Jiede
• Natalie Kahl
• Georgia Keith
• Claire Kinzer
• Elle Koch
• Trisha Mainali
• Ana Marroquin
• Caroline McGough
• Avery Melkus
• Caroline Mennel
• Mary Jane Neuhoff
• Grace Pepperell
• Yen-Phi Pham-Hoang
• Audrey Pierce
• Murray Pratt
• Zia Ramnath
• Bridget Reynolds
• Sydney Robinson
• Giann Ruiz
• Cali Simmons
• Cristina Stadler
• Maree Suhalim
• Catherine Swindle
• Amber Szczepkoqski
• Ava Taraszki
• Cameron Taylor
• Georgia Thompson
• Katherine Walsh
• Elizabeth Wiegand
• Loren Winn
• Isabella Zanoni

Honorable Mention

• Isabel Acosta
• Elizabeth Barbero
• Kasey Barsch
• Abbey Benningfield
• Kara Blanton
• Caroline Burns
• Madeline Butler
• Natalie Cerone
• Emerson Chance
• Kathryn Childers
• Sameera Chiruvolu
• Anabella Combs
• Juliana Copenhaver
• Tess Corrales
• Audrey Cox
• Sarah Crofford
• Esther De la Rosa
• Allie DeLeon
• Jamie Duda
• Anabella Dunn
• Catherine Eakes
• Alexis Eckman
• Eniola Egedigwe
• Isabelle Eggart
• Cora Ellison
• Ella Forsthoffer
• Quetzabel Garza
• Akshaya Gelli
• Grace Hood
• Keira Hurlburt
• Alyssa Jackson
• Kassidy Jackson
• Amisha Jain
• Lillian Jancuska
• Haley Jensen
• Maddox Johnson
• Sadie Johnson
• Ana Kahl
• Sydney Kent
• Holly Kobos
• Katherine Kostell
• Sidney Kovacs
• Harper Kuhn
• Paige Ladewig
• Livia Lange
• Avery Lankford
• Stephanie Limaye
• Valeria Lira
• Eloise Love
• Shelby Lovejoy
• Maria Pia Luque
• Meredith Mallad
• Jordan Malone
• Madeleine Marlowe
• Isabella Martinez
• Stephy Martinez
• Regan McKee
• Victoria Melendez
• Annie Melle
• Rachel Mexger
• Peyton Miller
• Elena Montenegro
• Ellen Muirheid
• Sydney Nguyen
• Danielle O’Sullivan
• Elizabeth Payne
• Lauren Peck
• Ali Perpall
• Ava Phillips
• Caroline Porray
• Taylor Radack
• Katie Rakoski
• Mercedes Ramirez
• Sterling Ratan
• Caroline Ricketts
• Audrey Riskey
• Ashlee Roberts
• Ella Robinson
• Caroline Roueche
• Alexandra Sargis
• Lucy Schnitzius
• Hannah Singer
• Jillian Spears
• Sophia Sweda
• Ellie Teachout
• Ryann Terhune
• Kate Thornton
• Kaitlyn Troendle
• Nika Vahadi
• Amulya Vajja
• Emma Velasquez
• Sofia Velesiotis
• Helen Voirin
• Cate Wagner
• Morgan Wall
• Elisa Welch
• Avery Welter
• Maddie White
• Anna Wilson
• Lanie Wootton
• Campbell Worley
• Reese Worley

Ursuline French students earn awards at 2022 Texas French Symposium

The Texas French Symposium is an annual statewide competition in which students of French compete with other students of their same level from all over the state of Texas, with the goal of motivating students to improve their oral and cultural competencies. Beginning with a registration of 200 in 1964, the Texas French Symposium now has a state-wide registration of nearly 1,000 contestants from over 40 public and private secondary schools.  Félicitations to our award winners!

In 2022, the Texas French Symposium was in-person and virtually. 16 Ursuline Academy students participated virtually and submitted entries in literature and artistic categories. Félicitations to our award winners!

• Theresa Tran '23 - 2nd place, Piano Solo
• Simone Mayega '23 - 3rd place, Prose
• Anastacia Chu '23 - 1st place, Prose & 4th place, Instrumental Solo
• Kiana Mollabashy '24 - 3rd place, Digital Media
• Mags McKinney '24 - 1st place, Digital Media
• Francesca Brush '25 - 4th place, Poetry
• Melina Lessing '25 - 2nd place, Prose 
• Carys O’Brien '25 - 1st place, Prose
• Laurel O’Brien '25 - 1st place, Prose
• Lauren Stanley '25 - 4th place, Prose

Chinese Students recognized at World Language Department Awards Ceremony

Four students were recognized at the World Language Department Awards Ceremony on Friday, Sept. 16. These students earned full scholarships to attend the 2022 University of Hawaii STARTALK Year-round Chinese Language Program. The students participated in an intensive three-week program on the University of Hawaii Manoa campus and earned three college credits during the summer of 2022.

Congratulations to Bronwyn Hamilton-Evans, Samantha Liao, Kaia Putnam, and Charlotte Robinson.

Samantha Liao also received recognition as her essay was selected for publication in “The Second Chinese Writing Selection,” a digital publication by the Chinese Language Teachers Association of Texas.