BBL's Gabriel Bailey Receives Top Award from Korean Consulate

 

On Thursday, June 12th, 2nd Grader Gabriel Bailey received a top award at the Korean Consulate in Manhattan for an essay she wrote describing her experience learning to speak Korean at BBL. She was one of twelve winners in a writing contest sponsored by the Korean government for children in the mid-Atlantic region whose schools offer a Korean language program.  

Gabriel receives award from Ambassador Son Se-joo.

 

About 2,500 students in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey

, Delaware and Pennsylvania study Korean in elementary, middle and high schools.  Each school selected a few of its top students to write an essay describing how Korean language classes will affect their future. 

 

Mr. Hi-Dong Park, who directs the Korean Consulate's Education Center and oversaw the contest, felt Gabriel's essay was particularly strong.  "I could feel her passion for learning a foreign language," he said.  "It touched me deeply when she wrote that studying Korean made her a different person."  He added, "I am so proud of Gabriel Bailey and her family.  She is one of the most outstanding scholars in the Metropolitan NY area."    

 

Additionally, Gabriel was one of three winners who were asked to give a speech in Korean to an audience of language teachers, diplomats, and family members.  The Koreans in the room gasped when she spoke, because her pronunciation was so native-like, and she delivered the speech with poise and confidence. 

 

Gabriel received $300 as prize money.  What will she do with it?  "I want to give this money to the poor," she says.  "I was very happy to get the award, and now I want to do some good with it." 

 

As for her own future, she says she'd like to teach Korean when she grows up.

Gabriel with her two Korean teachers, Ms. Soojin Kim and Dr. Bruce Ballard


Gabriel with family members, Mr. Jacobs and Dr. Ballard

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