Oakville Linguist Earns Trip to Mexico

junior Melina Delkic earned a free trip to Mexico after receiving the top score in the St. Louis region on the National Spanish Exam.

She also received a free trip to Germany last summer for her scores on the National German Exam. The tests earned her two Junior Travel Awards, a travel scholarship valued at $3,000 and given to 12 students across the country.

“I am really looking forward to experiencing Mexican culture firsthand and using my Spanish skills,” Delkic said in a district release. “I am thankful to the National Spanish Examination for providing me with such a great opportunity. I never could have done it without my teachers.”

The national exams are online standardized tests that teachers use to measure proficiency in foreign languages.

Oakville High was the only St. Louis public school that had entries for the exams. Sophomore Edna Besic and senior Stephen Ream earned silver and bronze medals for their scores.

The following students also received Honorable Mention on the exam: seniors Christina Sherman and Cody Swanson; juniors Jennifer Brendel and Naila Vohra; sophomores Caitlin Knipp and Andrew Zarkie; and freshmen Catherine Akley, Alaina Altenbernd, Mark Hampton and Leah Meissner.

The students are taught by Spanish I teacher Jennifer Lieberoff, Spanish I and II teachers Liliane Hanna-Emile and Mary Vogel, Spanish II teacher Meghan King, Spanish I, II and IV teacher Jeanne Weber and Spanish III and IV teacher Carol Robinson.