More than 150 high school students from the French Heritage Language Program gathered on Wednesday 5th June for their end-year event at the Cultural services of the French Embassy in New York. The evening proved a wonderful show and a great moment of collective joy friendship.

The evening started with all the students coming with their teachers from each of the program’s nine partner high schools, cheering and happy to see one another. All of the youth were animated to put a term to this awesome year, but also to celebrate with their classmates who won some prizes throughout the year’s diverse competitions. It was as if they were all ready to show and represent who they are and what they have learned, their schools, and the strong connections they have with one another.

Two French Heritage students of the International High School at Lafayette, Mariama Balde and Nancy D’Haïti, warmly opened the night and co-hosted the show with great energy and talent. Many class projects were then presented by groups from different schools. There was a theater contest conducted at the Lycée Français de New York, in which two French Heritage students won a prize for best female performance, a French radio show that one class in Brooklyn recently launched on the internet, and a film documentary on Little Senegal in Harlem, realized by one group of students from the Bronx. Each time a new project was showcased, students cheered for their classes and schools. These students worked so hard for their projects, it was marvelous to see them and hear about them. One of the students won the Aimé Césaire writing competition in March and it was nice to have her represent the International High school at Prospect Heights, which is also the school I attended a few years ago. Before concluding the evening, the students of the International High school at Prospect Heights came onstage to perform a song that they wrote with their teacher, and which they were all proud to sing in public.

The sponsors and supporters of the program were also all happy to attend and find more about the program’s year-round activities and its commitment on the ground with public schools and community centers. The evening ended with a delicious meal provided by the Malian Cultural Center and with great music by Afro Groove Collective band.

As an alumni of the program, I feel not only that the program has given this youth a door to success but also an advantage over others. Being a bilingual person is a better chance at everything in the United States, especially professionally. Participating in the program has opened new opportunities to me and also given me different experiences. I am proud to see these young students are also taking advantage of such experience and educational opportunity, it shows that they are embracing the language and also who they are.

Rachelle Gaspard

Photo credits: Julie Hinault

Click here for more pictures of the event

If you want to learn more about the French Heritage Language Program, please visit their

website at www.facecouncil.org/fhlp or www.facebook.com/fhlpnewyork