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One hundred twenty-three students in New Trier Class of 2024 awarded Seal of Biliteracy

One hundred twenty-three New Trier seniors are recent recipients of the Seal of Biliteracy, an award granted by the Illinois State Board of Education and given by New Trier High School’s Modern and Classical Languages Department in recognition and celebration of students who demonstrate a high level of proficiency in English and one or more other languages.

Students demonstrate their language proficiency by earning an English score of 21 or higher on the ACT or 4.8 on the ACCESS exam. Students can show proficiency in another language by earning a 4 or a 5 on the AP (Advanced Placement) language exam or by taking a state-approved test, such as the AAPPL (Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages) exam, and earning an Intermediate High or Advanced score.

Learning another language prepares students to be citizens of the global community by developing an awareness and appreciation of other cultures. The process of learning to comprehend and communicate in another language develops insight into the nature of language, as well as connections to other disciplines. The Seal of Biliteracy builds upon the rich linguistic and cultural assets of the district and community, providing students with the necessary skills to be successful in college, career, and life.

The Modern and Classical Languages Department is honored to recognize the following qualified New Trier seniors who demonstrated proficiency in more than one language:  

  • Seal of Biliteracy in Chinese: Riley Botjer, Emily Boyd, Zoey Fang, Myra Gallant, Yunqing Han, Kaminta Hou, Erik Li, Ethan Li, Sophie Li, Zhengdong Lu, Alison Lucchesi, Niyati Naveen, Ethan Shu, Danyan Wang, Yinuo Wu, Andrew Xia, Eric Yang, Jayden Ye, Joseph Yuan, and Amy Zheng.
  • Seal of Biliteracy in Czech: Vojtech Ponrt.
  • Seal of Biliteracy in French: Benicio Becka, Jackson Hasbrook, and Sophia Korobov.
  • Seal of Biliteracy in Georgian: Ana Adamadze.
  • Seal of Biliteracy in German: Kyle Fix, Makenzie Gable, Lilian Grady, Max Steen, and Jasper Zettelmeyer.
  • Seal of Biliteracy in Greek: Andriana Geroulis and Haralambos Iskos.
  • Seal of Biliteracy in Hungarian: Gruia Radu and Yvette Hermann.
  • Seal of Biliteracy in Italian: Emma Lucchese.
  • Seal of Biliteracy in Japanese: Kay Ito, Rintaro Kishi, and Sumi Pandiri.
  • Seal of Biliteracy in Korean: Aitak Mosen Harzandi, Chloe Park, and Yaejin Shin.
  • Seal of Biliteracy in Latin: Alexandra Vile and Ethan Shu.
  • Seal of Biliteracy in Polish: Emilia Kowalczyk, Gabriel Lopez, and Izabela Suszko.
  • Seal of Biliteracy in Russian: Hannah Kogan and Sophie Rakoushchyk.
  • Seal of Biliteracy in Spanish: Grace Allen, Owen Appel, Addison Auer, Kyle Bartsch, John Baumeyer, Alison Beanblossom, Benicio Becka, Santiago Benes, Ella Bostrom, Katherine Braham, Nathan Cata, Sarah Choi, Julia Chychlyk, Shaili Das, Suvali Dhar, Mathias Di Si, Gabriela Esteve, Talia Feinberg, Rocco Fernandez, Lia Fontana, Keira Fortin, Lindsey George, Taylor Glicken, Sally Glynn, Lillian Goettsche, Ana Hagist, Ignacio Hampton, Siena Harper, Yvette Hermann, Jennifer Hernandez, Erik Iancu, Henrick Ingram, Jaden Jansen, Samuel Kazmier Kaiser, Lexi Kittnar, Haley Knupp, Emilia Kowalczyk, Zoe Kunreuther, Dae Lee, Clare Levine, Amanda Lhee, Erik Li, Gabriela Manzano Pashinian, Jacob Matten, Elizabeth McCoy, Ella McCurdy, Margherita Merlo, Colin Meyer, Derek Mitchell, Wyatt Nelson, Aidan Nolan, Raina Patel, Tasyn Patel, Katherine Patterson, Virginia Peterson, Caroline Pilant, Sarah Popoff, Sophia Puljic, Brandon Regalado, Nora Rolison, Silvia Romero, Caroline Saunders, Catherine Schwaab, Ruth Schweidel, Maeve Scott, Julia Son, Annabel Sturgis, Alexander Swoish, Alena Tadelman, Chirag Tailor, Caroline Tzur, Madelyn Varkey, Olivia Veneziano, Rachel Veneziano, Tessa VonBank, Jane Welch, Victoria Wenzke, David Wolff, Chris Xu, and Riley Zenkewicz. 

Of special note are 5 students who qualify for the Seal of Biliteracy in multiple languages: Benicio Becka (Spanish and French), Emilia Kowalczyk (Spanish and Polish), Erik Li (Spanish and Chinese), Ethan Shu (Latin and Chinese), and Yvette Hermann (Hungarian and Spanish). 

Students who qualify for the Seal of Biliteracy based on their AP exam in May 2024 will be awarded this honor in the fall.