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Ryan senior earns Global Seal of Biliteracy

Submitted Photo Spanish teacher Mahalia Aponte hugs Bishop Ryan senior Savanah Brintnell, who earned a credential that demonstrates her working fluency in Spanish.

Savanah Brintnell, a senior at Bishop Ryan High School, is a straight A student who has received a golf scholarship to attend the University of Mary in Bismarck this fall.

Now she has earned another honor.

She recently took a test to demonstrate her working fluency in Spanish and earned the Global Seal of Biliteracy.

Her Spanish teacher, Mahalia Aponte, said she is not sure if this feat has been achieved before at Ryan or by any other student in Minot.

“Savanah is my only student for Spanish 4, which means I know exactly how hard she has worked this year to achieve this,” said Aponte.

Aponte said she encouraged Brintnell to take the test and earn a credential that will be recognized globally and will demonstrate her fluency to her future employers or to educational institutions.

There are three different levels on the exam: functional fluency, which demonstrates basic communication skills, working fluency, which means the student will be able to use her language skills in a work environment, and professional fluency, which demonstrates the ability to use the language at the highest level in arenas such as law or medicine.

It was not easy for them to discover how Brintnell could take the exam, said Aponte, but they persisted.

“I couldn’t be more proud of her,” said Aponte, who said the academic achievements of foreign language students aren’t always recognized as much as they should be. “I teach and love my job for moments like this.”

As the only student in the fourth year Spanish class, Brintnell has honed her Spanish skills mainly through practice with Aponte.

“I guess I just enjoy learning Spanish,” said Brintnell, who is interested in pursuing a career in medicine.

Aponte said she wants to encourage other students in the area who are studying a foreign language to continue with their studies and perhaps to consider trying to earn the Global Seal of Biliteracy.

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