MCA Students Shine at the 42nd Annual Foreign Language Festival

The 42nd Annual Foreign Language Festival, held at Southeastern and hosted by the university's Department of World Languages and Cultures, took place on March 21, 2025, welcoming students from across Louisiana for a day of linguistic excellence and cultural celebration. With categories spanning extemporaneous speaking, prose, poetry, music, theatre, and more, the competition offered students an exciting opportunity to showcase their language skills.

MCA students delivered remarkable performances across multiple categories. Their hard work earned them outstanding results, with numerous first-place finishes and even a historic achievement!
 

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Spanish Competition Results

• Olivia Kuhn – 1st Place, Spanish Recitation (1st Year)

• Caitlin Picone – 1st Place, Spanish Recitation (2nd Year)

• Claire Yoder – 3rd Place, Spanish Recitation (3rd Year)

• Angelinne Duarte-Romero – 1st Place, Spanish Recitation (Native Speaker)

• Sophia Ho – 1st Place, Spanish Extemporaneous Speaking (2nd Year)

• Avah Smith – 1st Place, Spanish Extemporaneous Speaking (3rd Year)

• Addison Ferreras – 2nd Place, Spanish Extemporaneous Speaking (4th Year)

• Karry Zepeda-Martinez – 1st Place, Spanish Dance

• Spanish Theater Team – 1st Place:

  • Brittan DeBautte, Cecilia Gutierrez, Elizabeth Zamora, Giselle Estrada, Jailynn Mendoza, Julia Savois, Laila Hoang, Marguerite Hopkins, Miranda May, Olivia White, Riley Kitchen, Sara Kuhn, Sophia Iacono, Sophia Selva, and Zoë Landry

Notable Achievements:

• Karry Zepeda-Martinez made history by securing first place in the festival’s inaugural dance category!

• Spanish 5 AP students claimed the 1st place trophy in theatre, marking a triumphant return to a category MCA had not participated in for years.

• Addison Ferreras was recognized for her exceptional performance and awarded a $1,000 check for her outstanding participation!

• Alexis Gray won the CODOFIIL Summer Study Scholarship to Belgium, the highest honor a student can earn in the French category.
   

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French Competition Results

Poetry Recitation:

• French I: Nina Young – 1st Place

• French II: Vivian O’Reilly – 1st Place

• French III: Natalia Lara – 1st Place

• French IV: Émeline Prochaska – 2nd Place

Extemporaneous Speaking:

• French I: Adair Rodriguez – 1st Place

• French II: Sydney Templet – 1st Place

• French III: Lauren Loris – 2nd Place

• French IV: Alexis Gray – 2nd Place

• French IV Interview: Alexis Gray won the CODOFIL Summer Study Scholarship to Belgium!

French Music:

• Mia Peppo – 3rd Place

French Play – 1st Place All French V students, along with Ella Desormeaux, Charli Slaughter, and Lauren Loris, delivered an exceptional performance that earned them the top spot in this competitive category.

French V students who wrote and produced the French play:

• Colleen D’Aquila, Hana Hammond, Sawyer Hughes, Lila McCabe, Zoë Nolan, Lola Patron, Mia Peppo, Julianne Serrano, Lauren Snider, and Ava Wimberley

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Congratulations to all MCA students who participated and showcased their talents at this year’s Foreign Language Festival!