Georgia Southern Students Win National Foreign Language Video Competition

November 30, 2012

Three Georgia Southern University students have received national honors for their entry in the 2012 Vista Higher Learning video contest. Chelsea Ritter, Meghan Mauceri and Matthew Monaco won $500 for “Wisdom of the World,” which stresses the importance of learning foreign languages. Georgia Southern was among six U.S. schools to receive the national honor from Vista Higher Learning.

‘Wisdom of the World’ consists of several inspirational quotes and proverbs in foreign languages.  “The Spanish one, ‘dime con quien andas y te diré quien eres’ is actually a phrase we learned while in Spain,” said Ritter. “It means ‘Tell me who you walk with, and I’ll tell you who you are,’ or that who you associate with dictates who are you are. It’s a message that has changed how I see many aspects of my life.”

The students learned about the contest in their Spanish class from professor Jose Manuel Hidalgo, Ph.D. and created the video while living with a family in Spain. “We were inspired by the ‘refrains’ or Spanish sayings that we learned in Spain, which we thought would be great to feature in a video,” said Mauceri. “Language comes alive to me every time I speak with someone from a foreign country because I realize that they had to overcome the obstacle of learning English in order to succeed here,” said Monaco.

The trio’s professor was glad to see their hard work and passion recognized. “Since we live in a multilingual and multicultural society, it is vital that we educate our students who will need the skills to function in this society, to understand the many advantages of being proficient in a second language and to appreciate the values of cultures different from their own,” said professor Hildago.

To view the award-winning video, visit: https://vistahigherlearning.com/video-contest/higher-ed.

Georgia Southern University, a Carnegie Doctoral/Research University founded in 1906 offers more than 120 degree programs serving more than 20,500 students. Through eight colleges, the University offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs built on more than a century of academic achievement. The University is one of the Top 10 most popular universities in the nation according to U.S. News & World Report, and is the top choice of Georgia’s HOPE scholars. Georgia Southern is recognized for its student-centered approach to education. Visit: www.georgiasouthern.edu