GERSTELL ACADEMY
LEADERSHIP • HONOR • COURAGE
LEADERSHIP • HONOR • COURAGE
Gerstell Celebrates National Spanish Award Winners and Global Scholars
Gerstell Academy’s Upper School students were recognized during the Spanish Leadership Assembly on Friday, May 15, for earning prestigious national honors, including the Bertie Green Junior Travel Award, the Kevin Cessna-Buscemi Global Citizen Scholarship, top distinctions on the National Spanish Exam, and the Global Seal of Biliteracy in English and Spanish.
Junior Livi Nyerges has been awarded a trip to Ecuador this summer! Each year, the Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica (SHH) offers an all-expense paid travel award to a Spanish-speaking country to the 18 students in the United States. Winners write compelling essays in Spanish about an aspect of the culture of that year’s destination, record a five-minute conversation with a teacher, and boast outstanding credentials. During the Spanish Leadership Assembly on Friday, May 15, Gerstell Academy recognized Upper School students for outstanding achievement in Spanish studies through nationally recognized awards, scholarships, and academic honors.
Two Gerstell freshmen, Ariana Halphen and Leila Nasir, are among the six students in the United States who won the KCB Global Citizen Scholarship which covers the cost of a week-long Spanish immersion program. In order to qualify to apply, students must have earned a medal on a previous National Spanish Exam, author an essay about what is means to be a global citizen and record a five-minute conversation in Spanish with a teacher.
Many Gerstell Upper School students have been singled out by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese for their outstanding performance on this year’s National Spanish Exam (NSE). During second semester in the United States, almost 70,000 students across five proficiency levels took part in the NSE. Five students won silver medals in the competition: Arianna Bryant, Natalie Delgado, Samantha Gilotte, Ariela Halphen, and Anu Randhawa. Each of these students scored higher than 85% of competitors in their respective categories. Adam Borcik, Eryn Buchanan, Ella Creighton, Hailee Petrecz, and Liam Vazhnov brought home bronze medals by scoring higher than 75% of others in the United States. Twenty-four underclassmen received certificates of Honorable Mention because they scored higher than 50% of the national testing pool. They are Brody Barber, Ashton Bell, Jalen Blackwell, Josephine Conley, Ayomide Fatile, Lizzie Getsin, Alexis Gilotte, Corey Graham, Gage Herb, Eli Jansen, Kendall Johnson, Samuel Jones, Xavier Latham, Cash Markel, Quinn Mortimer, Weylin Myers, Alivia Nyerges, Hanna Rahman, Will Rhoderick, Dorothea Selby, Kara Tissue, Mark Vaysman, Kenzie Wilking, and Leah Wilson.
Nine Upper School underclassmen were honored for earning a minimum ranking of intermediate-mid (5) in each of the skills- reading, listening, writing, and speaking on the 2025 STAMP test: Nadia Hoge, Nora Jothen, Ryan Lauer, Ben Miller, Livi Nyerges, Cadence Poklemba, Anu Randhawa, Sasha Visnyakov, and Elizabeth Yusubov. Their scores won them the Global Seal of Biliteracy, Level 1-Functional Fluency. The Seal is used for college placement, and even college credit in some cases, and is a powerful certification to present to employers. NOTE: Seniors will be honored at a later ceremony. Scores for the 2026 sitting of the STAMP are incomplete and will be announced during school year 2026-27.
Gerstell’s Spanish Department maintains its active membership in the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. Their participation in this professional organization qualifies their students to apply for these national awards.
2500 Old Westminster Pike
Finksburg, MD 21048-1823
410-861-3000
1-866-861-3300
Finksburg, MD 21048-1823
410-861-3000
1-866-861-3300
