High school students Guadalupe Gomez and Madeline Marconi were recently honored with prestigious national world language awards by the Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica, an honor society for high school students studying Spanish or Portuguese.

Recognized for their dedication to the study of Spanish and excellent skills in that language, the two students were presented with their awards by their Spanish teacher and World Language Honor Society adviser, Karen Maisano, along with Principal Michael Mosca, and Priscilla Zarate, the district’s ENL and world language coordinator. Islip has maintained an active chapter of the Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica for the last 22 years.

Gomez, a junior, won the 2018 Bertie Green Junior Travel Award for her dedication to the study of Spanish and her excellent skills in that language. Valued at over $3,000, the award is given to only 24 students from more than 2,400 SHH chapters across the United States. In July, Guadalupe will travel to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands with the other 23 winners.

“I would like to thank La Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica for this amazing opportunity to travel to Ecuador,” said Gomez. “I would also like to thank Mrs. Maisano for encouraging, motivating and helping me with the scholarship process. I am looking forward to experiencing the Ecuadorian culture and learning about the country.”

Marconi, a senior, won the 2018 Joseph Adams Senior Scholarship, a $1,000 scholarship awarded to only 60 students from more than 2,400 national SHH chapters.

“I am so incredibly proud to have received this award,” said Marconi. “I humbly thank La Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica for its generosity, as well as Karen Maisano for all her continuous support and guidance.”

Students become eligible for these two awards by being an inducted member of the SHH and then submitting samples of their written and oral work in Spanish to a selection committee appointed by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.