Swiss Benevolent Society
Education Committee
P.O. BOX 2137
Chicago, IL 60690-2137

E-mail:
education@sbschicago.org

Previous Award Winners
Concordia Language Villages
Summer 1999

 

Abraham Epton, Chicago, IL			$ 875.00
Alexander Kros, Riverside, IL			$ 875.00
Dorothy Schardt, Hindsdale High School			$ 875.00
Susan Johnson, Illinois Math & Science Academy			$ 875.00

Abraham Epton wrote:

I am writing this letter to thank you for the wonderful opportunity you gave me over the summer. I had an incredible experience at French camp, and feel that this letter can not possibly repay you for that, but is more a token of my esteem...

Your grant made it possible for me to have a wonderful summer. I made new friends, learned a lot about the French language and almost as much about the Francophone culture. While I was at camp, I was constantly immersed in French and became more fluent in it than at any other point in my life. My level of comprehension got high enough that I could read through Tintin and Asterix books almost as fast in French as I could in English. It was a wonderful feeling, conversing with the counselors and other villagers in another language, and every sentence I said felt like I accomplished something. I am very proud of my level of French, and I wish to thank you profusely for that. Without you, I wouldn't be half as fluent as I am today.