Congratulations to the students studying Spanish at Downers Grove South High School who attained national recognition for excellent performance on the 2024 National Spanish Examinations; in addition to 17 honorable mentions, DGS students received:
- 5 gold medals (Cally Auernhamer - level 1, Chrysalin Kuruvila - level 3, Lukas Meliukstis - level 3, Jared Lozano - level 4 bilingual and Zachary Mucha - level 5)
- 10 silver medals (Sara Plys - level 1, Melissa Doni - level 1, Isabella Campbell - level 2, Victoria Zibert - level 2, Emma Herman - level 2, Charlotte Clinnin - level 2, Liliana Hernandez - level 4, Sophia Pauna - level 4, Kristen Wegner - level 4 and Anna Maggos - level 4)
- 10 bronze medals (Alana Hunt - level 1, Naima Askia - level 2, Joseph Conyer - level 2, Juliana Kerr - level 3, Franny Dulles - level 3, Ava Gallo - level 3, Natalia Restrepo - level 3, Nayeli Anguiano - level 3, Logan Kavanaugh - level 4 and Kyle Zak - level 4).
“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 80,000 students participating in 2024.”
Additionally, the sponsor of the National Spanish Exam, the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP), recognized the following students for placing in the Top 10 in the Chicago Area Chapter: Cally Auernhamer - level 1 (3rd place), Melissa Doni - level 1 (9th place), Sara Plys - level 1, (10th place), Isabella Campbell - level 2 (9th place), Naima Askia - level 2 outside experience (9th place), Victoria Zibert - level 2 (10th place), Lukas Meliukstis - level 3 (2nd place), Chrysalin Kuruvila - level 3 (6th place), Anna Maggos - level 4 (9th place), Jared Lozano - level 4 bilingual (1st place) and César Palma - level 4 bilingual (10th place).
Students from South High School have a history of high achievement on these exams and were taught by Spanish teachers Amy Murphy, Diana Boukal, Cyndi Montero, Sage Preston and Joyce McElroy.
The National Spanish Honor Society, also sponsored by AATSP, awarded the best graduating senior member of the Zarzuela chapter a Premio de Ho nor to Zachary Mucha, initiated in 2023. Certificates of Excellence were awarded to current initiates Sophia Pauna - level 4, Anna Maggos - level 4, and Jared Lozano - level 4 for the overall highest GPA in Spanish courses and achievement on the National Spanish Exam.