Junior Nadia Busekrus has won an all-expenses two-week trip to the Central American country of Costa Rica through the National Spanish Exam (NSE).

The NSE is an online standardized test tool for students in grades six to 12. Teachers across the nation administer these tests to measure their students’ proficiency and achievement in the Spanish language. The NSE is the first online standardized language test available in the nation.

Annually, the NSE offers 12 travel awards to Costa Rica through a commercial study and travel group. To qualify, participants must be high school juniors, have received a medal placement or achieved a score in the 75th percentile or higher on the NSE, be registered to take the NSE the following year and agree to study Spanish in their Senior Year of high school.

Only one student from each school participates. Busekrus represented Sacred Hearts Academy.

“I love Spanish and I wanted to take advantage of the possibility to travel on a scholarship, especially because I’ve never been outside the United States before. The process itself of applying and of learning more about Costa Rica has been very interesting too,” said Busekrus.

As part of the application procedure, students needed to submit a high school transcript, extracurricular activities, two letters of recommendation, a video clip in Spanish and an essay about Costa Rica.

“I talked about the fact that Costa Rica does not have a military but instead relies on peaceful ways of solving conflict. They are the only former Spanish colony to have won their independence without violence,” said Busekrus.

Winners of the contest were notified in March.

“I found out over spring break that I had received the scholarship. It was so exciting! I’m so grateful for this opportunity and I can’t wait to visit Costa Rica this summer,” said Busekrus.

The trip to Costa Rica will be from July 18 to July 28 and feature opportunities for students to study the Spanish culture.

Busekrus said, “I will travel around San José, Costa Rica’s capital, and further to the north into the mountains. After that, we will visit the coast and go to the beach! I want to gain more confidence in my ability to speak Spanish. I definitely want to meet new people, and I’m also excited to try new activities and to conquer my fears of doing certain new things.”