Wilbraham & Monson Academy’s Emma Landry ’25 felt like her language skills were improving this school year in French. Her performance on the national language exam confirmed her belief.

Emma, who has been taking French at the Academy for six years, earned a Gold Medal on the 2024 Le Grand Concours (National French Contest). She posted the top score in her region (chapter) and placed sixth nationally on the Level 5 exam, the highest test offered. It was the first time a student at WMA won the chapter at the Level 5 competition.

Très bien, Emma!

Overall, nearly two dozen WMA students received recognition for their efforts on Le Grand Concours.

Quotes from Emma

Regarding her experience in AP French: “I am currently taking AP French with Madame Dubois. I performed better on the exam than I had in prior years, which I mostly attribute to my experiences in AP French and Madame Dubois's teaching. In AP French, our class has been exposed to a wide range of songs, movies, news segments, and scientific articles that not only help us better understand the language, but also engage with French culture. I think the contest reflected our progress well.”

Quotes from Madame Fabienne Dubois, French teacher and Chair of WMA’s World Languages Department

Regarding Emma: “Emma has been in my class for three years and it has been exciting to see her progress so fast in all her skills. Her consistent work and class participation have certainly paid off. It is the first time we have a student in Level 5 who is ranked first in the chapter and number six at the national level. That's a great achievement and a testament to Emma's talent and dedication.”

Regarding how WMA’s students performed on the national French exam this year: “It was a great year, with 17 medals and a total of 20 prizes. Eight students ranked nationally number 10 or (better). One student (Cooper Dwyer ’25) ranked second at the chapter and the national levels. Students in French classes did a fantastic job and it is very encouraging.”

On why she feels it’s important for students to take a foreign language: “I recently heard a few students on campus say that language learning may now be irrelevant because of AI tools and translators. This is not true. Those tools are helpful sometimes, but they will never replace human-to-human interactions and connections. Language learning has so many benefits. It develops cognitive skills, allows students to delve into another culture, and it sets them apart when they apply to college. Colleges like to see three or four years of the same language on transcripts so I encourage everyone to take their language learning to a higher level where they will learn a lot about culture and become effective communicators. Language learning takes time. The more languages you know the more you can communicate with people around the world! Seventy-five percent of the world doesn't speak English.”

List of award winners

Level 1

Honorable Mention: David Zhou ’26

Bronze Medals: Chloe Roumeliotis ’26, Jayden Adeboye ’25, Renée Schmalb Amorim ’25

Silver Medal: Ximena Perez Garcia ’26 (#2 chapter, #10 nationally)

Level 2

Honorable Mention: Kendall Schechterle ’27

Silver Medals: Linda Xiao ’25 (#10 chapter, #13 nationally), Lucia Segura Espinosa ’26 (#8 chapter, #11 nationally)

Gold Medal: Vicky Luo ’28 (#4 chapter, #6 nationally)

Level 3

Bronze Medals: Vivi Venkat ’25, Mark Tobias ’25

Gold Medal: Cooper Dwyer ’25 (#2 chapter, #2 nationally)

Level 4

Bronze Medal: Rebecca Kakule ’25

Silver Medals: Katie Hutcheson ’26 (#2 chapter, #10 nationally), Noah Stich ’25 (#2 charter, #10 nationally), Kiki Brook ’26 (#3 national, #12 nationally)

Level 5

Silver Medals: Breslin Grozio ’25 (#2 chapter, #8 nationally), Alicia Gil Martinez ’24 (#3 chapter, #9 nationally)

Gold Medal: Emma Landry ’25 (#1 chapter, #6 nationally)