Two Samford University students have earned top honors in a French language essay contest. Catherine Moore of Memphis, Tenn., and Gabi Kim of Yongin, South Korea, won 1st and 2nd place, respectively, in the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF) National French Week essay contest 2013. Their essays on the topic of “French: Language of the 21st Century” led the university category of the contest.

“I had my accelerated intermediate French 203 students write an essay for the contest as a homework assignment and was very pleased with the results,” said Heather West, assistant professor of French and director of Samford’s Critical Languages Program. Moore and Kim were among five students West selected for the contest. “They are excellent students with a bright future using French in their chosen careers of pharmacy and international relations,” West said.

National French Week seeks to highlight the cuisine, arts, sports, traditions, science, and technology of the thirty-three countries that have French as an official language and of the twenty-six countries and regions that use French as a second or unofficial language. It also seeks to demonstrate to students all the reasons to learn the language and to show them the many career opportunities open to them when they add proficiency in French to their skill set.