What is Global Scholars?
The Global Scholars program was created by the Pennsylvania State Modern Language Association in 2015-2016 to promote global awareness and cultivate necessary skills for the international world. It is a program that was deemed necessary to help high school students develop global awareness so that they can seamlessly enter the global marketplace and work with others from around the globe.
Hempfield Area High School was one of only three schools to graduate Global Scholars in 2016. Since then, the program has expanded to 23 schools in Pennsylvania and this year they are recognizing 134 Global Scholars across the state.
The Hempfield Senior Class of 2024, which consists of approximately 376 seniors, is graduating 12 Global Scholars this year. This list includes seniors Igor Bazylewicz, Tyler Dulkis, Carly Fox, Bonk Good, Hollie Hill, Kamille Horton, Tengo Kandelaki, Emerson Murdock, Zulmyarylis Ortiz-Rosario, Zhiyi Tang, Madalyn Twitchell, and Ariel Winfield.
All three of the foreign languages taught at Hempfield had students graduate with the coveted title of being Global Scholars, these students taking rigorous courses such as AP French, AP Spanish, German IV, and a multitude of other courses to meet the requirements to graduate with this status.
Two of the graduating Global Scholars are foreign exchange students: Igor Bazylewicz from Poland and Tengo Kandelaki from Georgia. This is the first time that Hempfield has offered the opportunity to have foreign exchange students participate in the program.
Being a Global Scholar enhances students’ opportunities to be accepted for employment, the global marketplace, universities, or post-secondary programs.
German teacher and World Language Department Co-Chair Frau Shafran is one of 17 teachers in Pennsylvania to be recognized as a PSMLA Global Educator, as well as the PSMLA 2018 K-12 Educator of the Year award.
What did we do this year?
Throughout the year, our Global Scholars were actively involved in the community, coordinating many activities that made an impact on both a local and global scale. The Global Scholars club created decorations for fall, winter, and spring as well as traveled to decorate our local nursing homes with, bringing holiday cheer to the residents.
A few of our Global Scholars did a variety of presentations; having the foreign exchange students presenting about their home countries during AFS week, a graduated Global Scholars member with our current Global Scholars President speaking about Global Scholars at the PSMLA conference, and a foreign exchange Global Scholars student Igor give a lesson to his peers about the Polish language.
During the season of giving in December, our language honors societies went Christmas caroling to the younger elementary students, ran booths at the Holiday Market, and delivered clay ornaments and cards to the local nursing home, Hempfield Manor. Some other organized activities that Global Scholars participated in this year included hosting a booth at the Rain Rally, showing Foreign Film Festivals after school for all language students, presenting a booth for the Electives Fair, and attending field trips to Pittsburgh.
