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Gerstell Junior Wins 2025 Bertie Green Junior Travel Award

Junior Matthew Glaser is one of only 18 students in the United States to win the prestigious 2025 Bertie Green Junior Travel Award. The award from the Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica (SHH), a national honor society for high school students studying Spanish or Portuguese provides for an all-expense paid trip to the Dominican Republic in July of 2025. 

Each SHH chapter in the United States may choose one junior member to apply for the award. Matthew’s submission process was lengthy and required him to submit samples in Spanish of both oral and written work to a selection committee from the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. Matthew wrote an engaging 500-word essay in Spanish in which he explained how the gastronomy of the Dominican Republic connects to the culture. He also spoke for five minutes in Spanish about his motivation for continuing to the study the language. 
 
By the end of sophomore year, Matthew had earned the Global Seal of Biliteracy, Level 1. Matthew is poised to earn Level 2, Working Fluency, before he graduates next year. Matthew is also generous with his time, talents and treasures as he assists classmates for whom Spanish is more difficult. He is also a member of the Current Events Club, where he schedules guest speakers with an international perspective. 
 
Congratulations to Matthew and to his Spanish teacher, Sra. Deborah Doyle!
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