The Foreign Languages Department inducted students into the World Languages Honors Society in celebration of their achievements in studying Spanish, French, Chinese and Latin on May 16.

In addition to the induction, a senior from each language was given the outstanding student award.

Theodore Velaise ’17 received an award for his dedication and high level of proficiency in the Chinese language, Danielle Kaye ’17 for French, Howard Deshong ’17 for Latin and Elly Hong ’17 for Spanish.

Before each award was presented, students performed a cultural presentation coinciding with each language. Angel Hoyang ‘18 performed a Chinese dance, a group of choir students sang a French song acapella, Henry Platt ’17 sang a Latin song of spiritual devotion and a group of students performed a rendition of the popular Spanish song “La Bamba.”

Inductees said they felt honored to receive the award.

“All the work I did definitely paid off and I got to reflect on all my achievements of learning Chinese at Harvard-Westlake.,” said Chinese student Isabella Huang ’19. “ I was really excited and proud when I got the award because I worked hard to learn Chinese and spent lots of time on it.”

After the ceremony, students and parents attended an outdoor reception.