Global Village Academy COCABE Essay Winners 2019
GVA is proud of our students who entered the 2019 essay contest sponsored by the Colorado Association of Bilingual Educators.
2nd Place, Elementary School Division Gabriel Small | 5th Grade, GVA Northglenn
“I have made lifelong friends as we have been together since Kindergarten. We have been through strict Chinese lessons, pages of Chinese character writing, and language learning together. Speaking a second language helps me with talking to other people. My dream is to be a doctor, and because I can communicate in Chinese, I will be able to help more people. I am proud to be bilingual. It is a part of me, it will help me in my future, and it makes me happier.
What does it mean to be bilingual? It means I have a brighter future!”
2nd Place, Middle School Division Diego Zazueta | 8th Grade, GVA Aurora
“During my nine years at GVA, I have had teachers from Chile, Mexico, Spain, Argentina, and Peru. These teachers have given me a broad understanding of the Spanish language and the small things that differ in the dialect from one country to another. Not only has school allowed me to speak English and Spanish daily, but I also speak Spanish to my father every day. My 86-year-old Abuelo is proud that I can speak Spanish with him too. Knowing two languages will help me when I become an adult. I will have additional job opportunities monolingual adults won’t have. Bilingual workers that can read, write, and speak another language get paid more because they are in high demand. I can be anything from a translator to a lawyer. I can go to college in Mexico or Spain.
I am proud to be bilingual as it has provided me a bridge to other cultures, including the one that I am part of in Sinaloa, Mexico.”
2nd Place, High School Division Hannah Toulouse | 10th grade, Alumna, GVA Aurora
“I am a proud fifteen-year-old bilingual speaker. I have studied Mandarin for over 11 years, starting in kindergarten and continuing it in tenth grade. As I became older, I became appreciative of the fact that I went to a school that allowed me to learn Mandarin, which is a difficult language. The opportunity to learn a second language has allowed me many chances to communicate with others and strengthened my desire to learn even more. I’m very proud to have taken the time and effort to learn about other societies, cultures, and languages. Being bilingual has allowed me to dive deep into the culture and history of two languages that I thought I would never learn. It gave me the chance to take an AP test at the age of thirteen. I am proud of myself and more confident in speaking to others in Mandarin and sometimes in Spanish.
No matter what age a person is, I believe they should embrace the opportunity to learn another language.”