Pattonville senior Olivia Wedig has been awarded the Joseph Adams Scholarship for High School Seniors that she received through the Spanish National Honor Society. The scholarship will give her $1,000 each year to the school she decides to attend.

Wedig plans on majoring in chemistry with a minor in Spanish, but is undecided on a school.

“I want to continue studying Spanish mostly because I love the language and studying it teaches me about other cultures,” Wedig said.

The Joseph Adams Scholarship is awarded to only 48 students nationwide each year. There are also twelve $2,000 scholarships available.

In order to receive the award, Wedig had to write an essay completely in Spanish while following a given prompt, and she also had to record a 5-minute video of her speaking to her Spanish teacher, Dr. Silvia Hilker, on what motivates her to continue learning Spanish and the reasons to learn another language.

“Studying any language forces you to think in different ways than you normally would have to, and the moment when you realize that you can understand Spanish that you hear or speak is exciting.”

In order to apply, she also had to receive a high score on her National Spanish Exam that she took her junior year.

“It feels awesome to see all of my hard work over the years pay off.”