Linguistic Leaders: LPS students secure state honors for excellence with world languages

April 14, 2025

Lincoln High School junior Phoebe Pierson has used her love of world languages to become fluent in life skills such as perseverance, dedication and taking initiative.
 
Pierson is one of more than two dozen Lincoln Public Schools students who were honored this winter for their linguistic talents. The Nebraska Department of Education recognized students with the Distinguished World Language Scholar Award (DWLSA) and the Student Language Spotlight Award.
 
Students earned the DWLSA for demonstrating outstanding leadership in language learning, commitment to language study and communicative competence. The Student Language Spotlight Award recognized recipients for exceptional achievements in their world language classrooms.

 
Pierson was included in the “High Honors” category of the DWLSA. She has reached the Level 5+ mark of the LPS World Language Proficiency Targets for her German-speaking abilities, which is the top level for students.
 
Pierson said discovering information in a different language is helping her in multiple ways.
 
“Learning languages like German is super important in many aspects of life,” Pierson said. “For example, languages can open up countless travel opportunities which help people experience different places for real, and be fully immersed in the culture. Beyond this, learning a world language helps people grow intellectually and emotionally because it forces them to develop new skills such as dedication, patience and commitment. Without these, language learning is almost impossible.”

 
Marissa Wanamaker leads German classes at Lincoln High and nominated Pierson for state accolades. She said Pierson is “an amazing language learner.”
 
“Phoebe exemplifies dedication,” Wanamaker said. “She is the first to complete assignments, ask how she can further a topic we covered in class and puts in the work outside of and during class to ensure that she produces high-quality work.”
 
Northwest High School students Hannah Estrada and Nghi Tran each earned the same “High Honors” status for their efforts in Danielle Fulcher’s Spanish classes. Estrada is a sophomore and has completed Levels 3 and 4 of the Spanish Novice proficiency program, and Tran is a freshman who has finished Levels 1 and 2.
 
Fulcher said she was proud of both Estrada and Tran for their work inside and outside of the classroom. Estrada has joined Northwest’s Spanish Honor Society and is able to distinguish different dialects of Spanish in her reading. Tran has shown a deep curiosity to learn more and deepen her love of languages.
 
“One of my greatest joys as a teacher is to see my students inspired by what they are learning and demonstrating a desire to learn more, and Hannah has taken what she’s learned in class and set out on her journey to learn more,” Fulcher said. “In my Spanish 2 classes Nghi really set herself apart by the quality of the work she turned in. She went above and beyond with her tasks, adding details with her writing and perfecting her accent with her speaking skills.”
 
Tran said she has grown in many ways by spending time in the Spanish language.
 
“I enjoyed learning Spanish, beyond just the aspect of the vocabulary and language itself, but also comprehending more advanced communication skills that I’ve never gotten to understand and experience before without the help of world language,” Tran said.
 
German and Spanish are two of the six world languages offered at LPS. The school district also provides classes in Arabic, French, Japanese and Mandarin at various buildings. The LPS curriculum includes world language competency-based credits, proficiency targets for each semester of instruction and grading guidelines for speaking, listening, writing and reading.

 
LPS Language Curriculum Specialist Katie Damgaard said recognizing students for their work helps them realize that they are key members of a globally-connected community.
 
“It is essential to support and celebrate LPS (language proficiency and studies) students who demonstrate outstanding leadership and commitment in this area,” Damgaard said.

 
Pierson said it is exciting to weave nouns, verbs and adjectives together into understandable sentences.
 
“I have quite enjoyed seeing my progress, as I have gotten quite a bit better from where I started,” Pierson said. “This shows that my hard work has paid off, which is both satisfying and motivating. It’s also awesome to be able to use a foreign language in real-life situations.”
 
Tran said she is determined to help others in multiple languages.
 
“My commitment to learning Spanish isn’t for benefiting myself, but rather for the people around me,” Tran said. “I want to enable easier communication for people in the hope of leading them to better opportunities for themselves. Making the world more accessible and convenient to everyone is my motivation to keep going forward with learning Spanish.”
 
Wanamaker and Fulcher said students like Pierson, Estrada and Tran represent the many reasons why world languages are an essential piece of the LPS education puzzle.
 
“Learning languages takes hard work and is so important to become a global citizen,” Wanamaker said. “Phoebe not only is very proficient in the German language, but she has taken the time to understand different cultures and become more open minded. I honestly can’t think of a more important aspect of education and am so happy that she is being recognized.”
 
“Learning a second language enriches a person’s life in so many ways (communication skills, college and career readiness, building empathy), and yet enrollment in language classes is diminishing and fewer world language teachers are entering the profession,” Fulcher said. “Letting our students shine and recognizing them for their excellence is the best way to reverse this trend.”

2025 LPS World Language Awards Recipients

Student Language Spotlight Award

Alicia Wang – Singing – Chinese Novice: Elementary (Level 2) – Maxey Elementary School
Alyssa Freeman – Singing – Chinese Novice: High School (Level 2) – East High School
Anthony Guo – Recitation – Chinese Novice: Elementary (Level 2) – Kloefkorn Elementary School
Belinda Qiao – Idioms – Chinese Intermediate Mid: High School (Level 4) – East High School
Brooks Xia – Idioms – Chinese Intermediate Mid: High School (Level 4) – East High School
Catherine Sun – Singing – Chinese Novice Heritage: Elementary (Level 2) – Adams Elementary School
Evan Dong – Culture Presentation – Chinese Intermediate Heritage: Middle School (Level 3) – Scott Middle School
Grace Cai – Idioms – Chinese Intermediate Heritage: High School (Level 4) – East High School
Iris Hui – Singing – Chinese Novice Heritage: Elementary (Level 2) – Maxey Elementary School
Ivy Zhou – Singing – Chinese Novice Heritage: High School (Level 2) – Maxey Elementary School
Jade Xia – Culture Presentation – Chinese Intermediate Heritage: Middle School (Level 3) – Scott Middle School
Katelyn Xia – Singing – Chinese Novice Heritage: Middle School (Level 2) – Cavett Elementary School
Maha Shamdeen – Project – Chinese Novice: High School (Levels 1 and 2) – North Star High School
Olivia Bechtel – Singing – Chinese Novice: High School (Level 2) – Southeast High School
Rui Tao – Recitation – Chinese Novice: Elementary (Level 2) – Cavett Elementary School
Shirley Tao – Singing – Chinese Novice Heritage: Elementary (Level 2) – Cavett Elementary School
Sophie Cai – Recitation – Chinese Novice: Elementary (Level 2) – Maxey Elementary School
Suzy Ma – Singing – Chinese Novice Heritage: Elementary (Level 2) – Maxey Elementary School
Wensi Cui – Idioms – Chinese Novice: High School (Level 4) – East High School

Distinguished World Language Scholar – High Honors

Allyson Hale – Chinese Novice (Levels 1 and 2) – North Star High School
Ernest Xie – Chinese Novice (Levels 1 and 2) – Adams Elementary School
Grace Cai – Chinese Intermediate Low (Levels 3 and 4) – East High School
Phoebe Pierson – German Intermediate Mid (Level 5+) – Lincoln High
Quinn Bohaty – German Intermediate Low (Levels 3 and 4) – Schoo Middle School
Hannah Estrada – Spanish Novice (Levels 3 and 4) – Northwest High School
Nghi Tran – Spanish Novice (Levels 1 and 2) – Northwest High School

Distinguished World Language Scholar – Honors

Iris Hui – Chinese Language Learning: Elementary – Maxey Elementary School
Teh Meh – Chinese Language Learning: High School – North Star High School
Wensi Cui – Chinese Language Learning: High School – East High School
Oslo Gegg – German Language Learning: High School – Southeast High School

Visit the LPS website at https://home.lps.org/worldlanguage/ to learn more about our world language curriculum. 
 
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