Students From Across Wyoming Compete in World Languages Day at UW

In early March, 375 visiting secondary students and 35 teachers representing 16 junior high and high schools from across the state participated in the annual World Languages Day (WLD) competition at the University of Wyoming.

 

WLD is Wyoming’s state championship of foreign language study hosted by UW’s Department of Modern and Classical Languages. This year’s theme was “Festivals.” 

 

Director Bénédicte Sohier, a senior lecturer in UW’s Department of Modern and Classical Languages, led this year’s event alongside more than 60 volunteers, including student volunteers, faculty and staff members.

 

“World Languages Day is not just about competition; it’s about connection,” Sohier says. “It’s about coming together as a community to celebrate our shared love for language and culture. And what better place to do so than at Wyoming’s only four-year university, a place that embodies the spirit of exploration and discovery.”

 

Students competed in linguistic competitions in six languages; there were live competitions and pre-event writing, such as poems, short stories, essays and edited video. Many of the students shared their artistic talents in a people’s choice award art competition.

 

On Friday, March 6, UW student volunteers led students on campus tours and facilitated six evening activities: swing criollo, a visit to the geology museum, trivia, karaoke, a planetarium show and Linguistic Olympiads.

 

For the main event Saturday, March 7, students participated in a poetry and drama contest, in which they competed in multiple categories depending on level and language. Additionally, there were 12 resource tables and 13 workshops offered, with students rotating through five of these.

 

These opportunities generated excitement and engagement in a diverse array of languages, cultures and countries, including Arabic, Urdu, Turkmenistan, Chinese, French, Latin, German, Japanese and Spanish.

 

“Our students look forward to this event every year,” says Sarah Evans, a French teacher at Cheyenne Central High School. “They are excited to visit the UW campus, meet potential future language professors and enjoy a cultural and linguistic experience that they don’t have anywhere else.”

 

WLD was supported, in large part, by grants from UW’s College of Arts and Sciences and by generous donations from other UW units, including the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Arabic and Middle East Studies Program, Honors College, Department of History, the Global Engagement Office and the Department of Plant Sciences.

 

Listed are this year’s winners, organized by school.

 

Buffalo High School

 

Annabelle King, Spanish Individual Edited Video Level 1, first place; and Maisey Davidson, Spanish Novice Poetry, third place.

 

Campbell County High School, Gillette

 

Melanie Meléndez and Melanie Armendariz, Spanish Advanced Poetry, first place; María Gutierrez, Spanish Intermediate Short Story, first place; Abigail Walter, Spanish Intermediate Short Story, second place; Gavin Steele, Spanish Intermediate Short Story, third place; Brian Sánchez, Spanish Advanced Essay, second place; and Preslie DeWine, People’s Choice Award Painting, first place.

 

Also, Kloee Reed, People’s Choice Award Sculpture, second place; Katherine Lee, People’s Choice Award Sculpture, third place; Bryanna Rios Gutierrez, People’s Choice Award Mixed Media, second place; Charlette McDaniels, People’s Choice Award Mixed Media, third place; Madison Phelps, People’s Choice Award Mixed Media, first place; Las Ninjas de Español, Spanish Group Edited Video Level 3, first place; Los Mono and El Baile de los Viejitos, Spanish Group Edited Video Level 3, second place; Los Mojados and Los Hijos, Spanish Group Edited Video Level 3, third place; Los Niños Mayas, Spanish Group Edited Video Level 4, first place; Los Marineritos, Spanish Group Edited Video Level 4, second place; Los Santos, Spanish Group Edited Video Level 5, first place; Sánchez Márquez Gladis and Valdez Ruiz Brenda, In Person Competitions Spanish Level 5 Large Group, first place; Bath Sawyer and Caffee Kennedy, In Person Competitions Spanish Level 4 Large Group, third place; Ramos Daniela and Villegas Ramirez Leilani, In Person Competitions Spanish Level 4 Large Group, second place; and Audrey Nichols, Ellie Prior and Lauren O’Donnell, In Person Competitions ASL Level 1 Small Group, first place.

 

Centennial Middle School, Casper

 

Julia Pomroy, In Person Competitions Spanish Level 2 Individual, third place; Amelia Fitzpatrick, Zoe Howard and Sutton Sedustine, In Person Competitions Spanish Level 1 Small Group, first place; Arya Allen, Aliya Esmaiel, Lydia Garris and Kylen Porter, In Person Competitions Spanish Level 3 Small Group, third place; Emma Russell, Sterling Fowles and Harper Phillips, In Person Competitions Spanish Level 3 Small Group, second place; Mira Ballew, Bentley Henriksen and Joslyn Moralez, as well as Romeo Medina, Annalise Trepanier, Reese Beck and Callan Tremel, In Person Competitions Spanish Level 3 Small Group, first place.

 

Also, Zoe Howard, People’s Choice Award Drawing, first place; and Romeo Medina, People’s Choice Award Drawing, third place.

 

Cheyenne Central High School

 

Kami Harris, Spanish Novice Poetry, first place; Lexie Miller, Spanish Novice Poetry, second place; Malea Adams-Case, French Intermediate Essay, first place; and Baile Inolvidable, Spanish Group Edited Video Level 5, second place.

 

Also, Henry Lance, Level 2 Individual French, first place; Sarah Stump, Level 5 Individual French, first place; Bellatrix Hogue, Susanna Scranton, Nolan Knepper, Oliver Avram and Violet Riester, In Person Competition French Level 1 Large Group, first place; Jaymi Deibert and Lilly Obermueller, In Person Competitions French Level 2 Small Group, first place; Iris Beadles and Joey O’Hara, In Person Competitions French Level 3 Small Group, first place; and Eliza Scranton and Susanna Scranton, In Person Competition French Level 4 Small Group, first place.

 

Cheyenne East High School

 

Eden Olsen, French Intermediate Poetry, first place; Finian Knepper, Spanish Advanced Essay, third place; Josephine Haberkorn, In Person Competitions Spanish Level 4 Individual, second place; and Finian Knepper, In Person Competitions Spanish Level 5 Individual, first place.

 

Also, Layla King, People’s Choice Award Painting, third place; and Kaitlyn Leming and Londyn Moss, Level 2 Small Group Spanish, second place.

 

Cheyenne South High School

 

Jonah Clark, In Person Competitions Spanish Level 5 Individual, second place.

 

Cody High School

 

Colby Beardall, In Person Competitions Spanish Level 2 Individual, first place; and Ella Wilkerson, People’s Choice Award Painting, second place.

 

Cody Middle School

 

Olivia Shivers and Kaylee Zierke, In Person Competitions Spanish Level 1 Small Group, second place; and Charlotte Quick, Henley Pool and Remington Undeberg, In Person Competitions Spanish Level 1 Small Group, third place.

 

CY Middle School, Casper

 

Riley Weeding and Marissa Szumada, Spanish Group Edited Video Level 1, first place; Leif Boehnke, In Person Competitions Chinese Level 3 Individual, first place; Addisyn Knigge, In Person Competitions Chinese Level 3 Individual, second place; Dakota Knopp, Evelyn Smith and Aurora Wright, In Person Competitions Chinese Level 3 Small Group, first place; Cody Bauer and Keaton Bertagnole, In Person Competitions Chinese Level 3 Small Group, second place; Kari Helm, In Person Competitions Chinese Level 4 Individual, first place; and Ashley Partin, In Person Competitions Spanish Level 5 Individual, first place.

 

Also, Ryker Holwegner, In Person Competitions Spanish Level 1 Individual, first place; Kye Acosta, In Person Competitions Spanish Level 1 Individual, second place; Hazel Hahn, In Person Competitions Spanish Level 1 Individual, third place; Presley Keith, In Person Competitions Spanish Level 2 Individual, second place; Enwei Zhang, In Person Competitions Russian Level 1 Individual, first place; Eli Covert, In Person Competitions Russian Level 1 Individual, second place; Caden Brown, In Person Competitions Russian Level 1 Individual, third place; Gwendolyn Nicolaysen and Kiley Bradley, In Person Competitions Russian Level 1 Small Group, first place; Evie Kreutzer and Nataly Gutierrez Betancourt, In Person Competitions Spanish Level 2 Small Group, first place; Rylee Attwood and Jocelyn Frausto, In Person Competitions Spanish Level 1 Small Group, third place; and Chardonnay Diaz, People’s Choice Award Drawing, second place.

 

Kelly Walsh High School, Casper

 

Haoning Li, In Person Competitions Chinese Level 5 Small Group, first place; and Addison Graham and Kelson Murray, In Person Competitions Chinese Level 5 Small Group, second place.

 

Laramie High School

 

Kaylee Li, In Person Competitions Chinese Level 5 Individual, first place; Monnica Yang, In Person Competitions Chinese Level 5 Individual, second place; Nahomie Sanchez, In Person Competitions Spanish Level 4 Individual, first place; and Marley Gisinger, In Person Competitions Spanish Level 4 Individual, third place.

 

Natrona County High School, Casper

 

Madison Zeller, In Person Competitions Chinese Level 5 Small Group, first place.

 

Thunder Basin High School, Gillette

 

Adam Tew, German Novice Poetry, first place; Levi Dosch, German Intermediate Essay, first place; The Clown, German Individual Edited Video Level 3, first place; Hottell Hannah, Kyle Zander, Schillinger Keziah and Shearer Kimbrie, In Person Competitions Spanish Level 4 Large Group, first place; Kiley Merchen, People’s Choice Award Photography, first place; and Kimbrie Shearer, People’s Choice Award Mixed Media, first place.

 

Twin Spruce Junior High School, Gillette

 

Clara Fisher, Spanish Intermediate Poetry, third place; Regan Anderson, Spanish Intermediate Poetry, second place; Lily A. Wilson, Spanish Advanced Poetry, second place; Aubrey Schlau, Spanish Novice Short Story, second place; Lydia Wilson, Spanish Novice Short Story, first place; Angel Ruiz Nogueira, Spanish Intermediate Short Story, second place; Katelina Mendoza, Spanish Advanced Short Story, first place; Kristen Robles, Spanish Advanced Short Story, second place; Alexandre Bautista Jimenez, Spanish Advanced Short Story, third place; Connor Gross, Spanish Novice Essay, first place; Janessa Madrid, Spanish Novice Essay, second place; Isaiah Heller, Spanish Novice Essay, third place; Brittany Fuentes, Spanish Intermediate Essay, first place; and Ethan Murcia-Garibay, Spanish Advanced Essay, first place.

 

Also, Maisie Borah, Spanish Individual Edited Video Level 1, third place; Calamaty Duimstra, Spanish Individual Edited Video Level 1, second place; Asher Craig, Spanish Individual Edited Video Level 2, second place; Everett Garcia, Spanish Individual Edited Video Level 2, first place; and Kesler Bowker, Spanish Individual Edited Video Level 3, first place.

 

For more information about the annual WLD competition, visit the website at www.uwyo.edu/modlang or contact Sohier at bsohier@uwyo.edu.