Gerstell Students Win Global Citizen Scholarship

The Spanish Department at Gerstell Academy is proud to announce that ninth graders Ariela Halphen and Leila Nasir have been selected as recipients of the National Spanish Exam Kevin Cessna-Buscemi Global Citizen Scholarship. This prestigious award grants full tuition to Concordia Language Villages, an immersive language and cultural program affiliated with Concordia College.

Ariela and Leila earned this national recognition through their sustained passion, conviction, and persistence in pursuing Spanish language proficiency. Their selection—among only six students chosen across the United States for this year’s virtual program—gives them the opportunity to engage with top Spanish students nationwide and further develop their linguistic and cultural competency.

The scholarship program, offered through the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP) and the National Spanish Exam (NSE), allows each teacher to nominate one student who scored at or above the 75th percentile on the 2024 or 2025 NSE. As part of the rigorous application process, students composed a written piece on global citizenship or drafted a persuasive letter advocating for the value of immersion programs. They also participated in a five-minute conversational video in Spanish discussing their families, interests, and goals for the scholarship experience.