French, German areas induct students into national honor societies

French awards

One of the longstanding traditions in the department is the Annual French Awards Day Ceremony which for over thirty-eight years has honored students for outstanding academic work and creative writing. This has always been the largest of French activities bringing together students, faculty, dignitaries, administrators, relatives and friends to celebrate our students' accomplishments and enjoy the community solidarity that we share and the deep inspiration we feel for the inexhaustible contributions of French and Francophone cultures.

Also thanks to the initiative of Professor Alina Cherry we are now official members of Pi Delta Phi a national French Honorary Society and for the first time in the history of awards day, four of our students were officially inducted into the society. Organizing awards day was Professor Michael Giordano who had asked all French instructors to nominate two students from each of their classes in the past year for outstanding work in courses ranging from Basic French to graduate seminars. In all, some seventy-two awardees were offered personal certificates of accomplishment signed by the chair of the department and Professor of French Anne Duggan. Also, a number of prizes were awarded to students who excelled in creative writing consisting of poems, descriptive narratives and short stories. Professor Christine Knapp provided invaluable advice and assistance in the distribution of certificates and prizes.

We were honored that Stephanie Hartwell, new dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, accepted to give the keynote address on the value of studying French as well as other international languages and cultures. After the ceremony, there was a reception in the newly furnished Salle Française offering an excellent occasion for meeting students, enjoying stimulating exchanges and making plans for next year. The Ceremony's success was largely due to the team effort of Professor Elena Past, Instructor Karin Tarpenning and graduate students Melissa Levesque and Mandeta Gjata.

Professor Michael Giordano

German awards

At this year's Excellence Awards Ceremony, the German area inducted Jacob Depper, Alyssa Hirsch, Caleb Helton, Neira Kulagiic, Samantha Neroni, Katherine Sanderson and Anabella Ward into the German National Honor Society, Delta Phi Alpha. They gave out $20,000 in scholarships to students who will be participating in our Junior Year in Munich Program in the 2019-20 academic year: Jozzi Billingslea, Charlie Collins, Jacob Depper, Lyric Elliott, Jack Fornasiero, Caleb Helton, Paige Huguelet, Katherine Sanderson, Anna Stileski and Annabella Ward. Herzlichen Glückwunsch!

Professor Lisa Hock

Slavic awards

At this year's Excellence Awards Ceremony, the Russian area inducted Paige Brynaert, Michaela Lewalski, Jack Marone and Andrew Smith into the National Slavic Honor Society, Dobro Slovo. Michaela Lewalski was also honored as ACTR's scholar laureate for Wayne State for exemplifying her commitment to Russian studies and achievement in her work.

Russian students Wolfgang Lohrer and Andrew Smith were among the Slavic scholarship recipients. The Russian (and Slavic) program also said farewell to Professor Ken Brostrom, who retired this year after over 40 years at Wayne State.

Dr. Laura Kline

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