On March 14-16th, the OCSA Spanish Honors Society took a trip to Orlando to attend a Spanish Conference. 43 different schools attended the conference and students were able to take part in a series of Spanish-speaking events, from participating in a drama performance, to competing in individual activities like singing, dancing, poetry and designing a regional dress. The top three finalists from each category performed at the banquet that took place after the events. OCSA’s Spanish Honors Society received third place in the competition.  

This is Jeanelly Aviles, a junior vocal major’s first year attending the conference. She says that she is glad she was able to share her heritage with others and felt that everyone at the conference was united. “It was a great experience to be able to go to a competition and just see people that also have the desire to speak Spanish… and want to be able to succeed in the language and it was really good to also see other people that also wanted to have fun with their other class members and have fun with their society.”  She felt that by attending the conference, she was able to explore her heritage more as well as grow closer to her fellow classmates. 

To be able to attend the next conference, which will take place next year on March 4th-6th, students will have to be a chosen delegate for the Spanish Honor’s Society and cannot have grades below a C average. In order to join the Spanish Honor’s Society, students have to take and pass 3 semesters of a Spanish class. Meetings for the Spanish Honors Society are in Mrs. Marrero’s room during the second half of lunch on Wednesdays.