The Year of Languages Essay Prize winners and honorable mentions were selected by an interdisciplinary faculty committee from dozens of submissions in more than fifteen languages. The essays are the work of students taking language courses at Rutgers. Students were invited to answer the question, "Why Do I Learn Languages?"  150-word essays were submitted in English and in one or more of the languages that students are studying at Rutgers, The essays eloquently and creatively express a keen understanding of the role that language education and language engagement play in our individual lives and in our communities.  Please follow the names below to read our students' essays in Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Korean, Mandarin, Russian, and Spanish.

Year of Languages Essay Prize Winner

Ezra Campos-Pereira

Ezra Campos-Pereira

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Major: Finance and French
Language(s) You Are Learning: French, Portuguese
Graduation Year: 2023
Andi Craciun

Andi Craciun

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Major: Visual Art and Philosophy
Minor: Spanish
Language(s) You Are Learning: Spanish
Graduation Year: 2025
Noor Rasheed

Noor Rasheed

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Major: Biology and Neuroscience
Minor: Korean
Language(s) You Are Learning: Korean and Mandarin
Graduation Year: 2022
Luis Sanchez-Gonzalez

Luis Sanchez-Gonzalez

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Major: Linguistics and Biological Sciences
Language(s) You Are Learning: Italian, Japanese, German, French, Mandarin,
Graduation Year: 2026
Julia Sorkin

Julia Sorkin

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Major: Genetics
Minor: Russian
Language(s) You Are Learning: Russian
Graduation Year: 2023

Year of Languages Honorable Mention

Anabelle Accetta-Beman

Anabelle Accetta-Beman

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Major: Criminal Justice and Linguistics
Language(s) You Are Learning: Chinese, Russian, Japanese, French, Korean
Graduation Year: 2025
Marcus Cook

Marcus Cook

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Major: Undeclared
Language(s) You Are Learning: Russian
Graduation Year: 2024
William Hoover

William Hoover

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Major: Spanish
Minor: German and Linguistics
Language(s) You Are Learning: Spanish, Catalan, German, French
Graduation Year: 2023
Helen Hopersky

Helen Hopersky

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Major: Russian and Chinese
Minor: Music and Education
Language(s) You Are Learning: Russian, Chinese (Mandarin), Ukrainian, French
Graduation Year: 2024
Deshik Iyengar

Deshik Iyengar

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Major: French and Linguistics
Minor: Philosophy
Language(s) You Are Learning: French
Graduation Year: 2025
Mallika Ravi

Mallika Ravi

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Major: Cell Biology and Neuroscience and Comparative Literature
Language(s) You Are Learning: Spanish
Graduation Year: 2024
Hiba Shaqra

Hiba Shaqra

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Major: Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
Minor: Chemistry, Math, and Arabic
Language(s) You Are Learning: Arabic
Graduation Year: 2024