Sterling Scholar: Foreign Language

Madeleine Oritt

West High School

Parents: Jeff and Kristi Oritt

Salt Lake City

I love studying languages because I truly believe their acquisition opens doors. I am still amazed by the fact that I can now communicate with millions of Spanish speakers, solely because of my persistence with the language. I can also converse in and understand basic French. I am excited to continue studying and opening more doors for travel, education and professional pursuits around the world. Even more importantly, I know my ability to converse in other languages will enable me to reach across language barriers to help others. I also have plans to study linguistics and further my study of French and Spanish at the university level. I have hopes of studying other languages, including Arabic and Russian.

SCHOLARSHIP: Ranks first out of 499; GPA is 3.9; ACT is 33.

AWARDS AND PROJECTS: Volunteer Spanish speaker at elementary school and high school; National Honors Society, Fourth Street Clinic; Smith College Book Award recipient; National Merit semifinalist.