Matthew Burdyck, a junior at Gerstell Academy, has won the 2019 Bertie Green Junior Travel Award from the Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica (SHH), an honor society for high school students studying Spanish or Portuguese, for his dedication to the study of Spanish and excellent skills in that language. In July, Matthew will travel to Peru where he will visit Lima, Cuzco, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca, the Uros Islands and Taquile Island.               

 

This national award, which is valued at almost $4,000, is a prestigious honor for Matthew and Gerstell Academy. Only 24 students from over 2,900 SHH chapters across the United States were selected. Each SHH chapter in the United States may choose one junior member to apply for this award. As the candidate from Gerstell Academy´s Capítulo Julia Álvarez, Matthew submitted samples of his written and oral work in Spanish to a selection committee appointed by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.

 

Gerstell Academy has a long history of excellence in academics and has maintained an active chapter of the Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica for 11 years. Congratulations to student Matthew and his Spanish teachers, Meghan Hipple (2016-17) and Deborah Doyle (2017-18, 2018-19). 

 

Matthew anticipates his enrollment in Gerstell Academy’s Intern/Mentor Program: Spanish in the Community for the school year 2019-20.