One of Bronx Science’s greatest prides and joys is its variety of World Language classes. These encompass numerous languages such as Spanish, Chinese, French, and even Latin, offering a myriad of different levels including Regents, Honors, Advanced Placement, and conversation. The third floor World Languages hallways are adorned with a plethora of artistic student projects ranging from comics and portraits to posters and decorated masks and puzzles. The annual door decorating contest allows students to display their cultural and artistic talents while simultaneously freshening up the interior of our school. The United States has historically struggled with world languages education, but here at Bronx Science, our courses are challenging, engaging, and informative.
World Languages at Bronx Science
Exploring World Language classes in Bronx Science through photography.
About the Contributors
Rossitsa Mina Petrova, Staff Reporter
Rossitsa Mina Petrova is an Editor-in-Chief for ‘The Science Survey,’ where she is responsible for revising and editing the articles of her peers. She enjoys representing her school and community through journalistic pieces that unveil hidden wonders often lost to the eye. For Mina, journalism is a way to educate, illuminate, and entertain. She loves capturing heartfelt and wondrous occasions in photography that are often lost when the moment passes. For Mina, journalism is about preservation and bringing to light stories that otherwise would have been kept hidden in the dark. She is invigorated every time she searches for an idea. She prefers the excitement of in-person interviews, carrying her notebook and pen everywhere she goes. She feels the necessity to always be prepared to document a story. Journalism never takes a day off, she likes to say. In her free time, Mina busies herself with extracurriculars at school and on her own time. She enjoys cross county, track, painting, and writing poetry. Mina loves journalism and plans of pursuing it in college and as a career. She wants to keep the magic of print newspapers alive and continue to represent small communities with journalistic writing that covers both domestic and international stories. Her main interests in her writing are about global warming and the environment. Her articles focus on both problems and solutions to the climate crisis on a small and large scale. Mina believes that journalism that educates and inspires positive change is vital for today’s fickle world.
Mia Yang, Staff Reporter
Mia Yang is a Chief Graphic Designer, Copy Chief, and Academics Section Editor for the 'The Observatory' yearbook. Additionally, she is a Staff Reporter for 'The Science Survey.’ Mia enjoys the creative freedom that comes with graphic design, as well as providing and reading unique perspectives on all forms of journalism. She loves the still imagery and frozen perspective that photos capture, with every frame serving as a microcosm of memories. Mia loves spending her weekends tutoring, expanding her love for the English language to young listeners. During her free time, she loves to write and read fantastical stories. She can easily see herself pursuing a literary field in college, fully engrossed with reading and writing. She will remain absorbed with photography and graphic design, as she wants to implement her creative endeavors throughout the rest of her career.
Sofia Fernandez, Staff Reporter
Sofia Fernandez is a Copy Chief and Chief Graphic Designer for ‘The Observatory’ yearbook. She is also a Staff Reporter for 'The Science Survey' newspaper. Sofia believes that journalistic writing allows us to take on new and diverse perspectives. She finds this type of writing appealing and informative because it educates the reader in a creative and engaging way, while also highlighting the writer’s overall message. Photography really speaks to her heart since it allows her to capture a moment and cherish it as time goes on. She isn’t afraid to take new photos of things that she finds to be interesting. Whether it is photography or journalism, both fields allow her to demonstrate her own creative skills and that’s what she loves about them. Outside of school, Sofia pursues a variety of hobbies. These include listening to music, playing sports such as soccer and badminton for fun, working on graphic design, taking photographs, and watching television shows and movies. One of her favorite movies is Coraline because it is surrounded by conceptual fan theories and contains a great level of suspense, all of which is supported by its visual elements. In the future, Sofia plans on integrating her writing, graphic design, and photography skills by studying film and marketing in college.
Katherine Hong, Staff Reporter
Katherine Hong is a Chief Graphic Designer and Managing Editor for the ‘Observatory’ yearbook. She is also a Staff Reporter for ‘The Science Survey.’ Doing various arts and crafts has always been her favorite pastime throughout her life. Katherine has experimented with all kinds of crafts, ranging from sewing, to crocheting and making rainbow loom bracelets. Along with her interest in the arts, Katherine also pursues an interest in journalistic writing. She admires how journalists perfect the art of taking their findings and turning them into captivating stories for readers, enticing them to read more. She also has a passion for taking photographs that tell stories, since they immerse the viewers in the narrative and allow them to connect with the stories on a more personal level. Katherine plans on majoring in medicine in college, while keeping journalism and photography as recreational activities in the future.
Nora Gupta, Staff Reporter
Nora Gupta is an Editor-in-Chief and a Chief Graphic Designer for 'The Observatory' yearbook as well as a Staff Reporter for 'The Science Survey.’ She is also an awarded and published student poet and the author of the upcoming chapbook Decipher the Smoke. She advocates for artistic expression and writing sovereignty while stressing the importance of “painting a picture with words," a mantra that she follows with a disciple's devotion. Nora loves to use imagery and refined rhetoric in her writing, along with giving character to the people, objects, or events that she writes about. She views journalism as a healthy (and vital) part of a community — allowing greater community transparency and personality. Nora aspires to pursue writing as a future career.
Kate Hankin, Staff Reporter
Kate Hankin is an Editor-in-Chief for ‘The Science Survey.’ In her journalistic writing, Kate likes to share her interests such as food, music, current events, politics, and movies. She enjoys the journalistic process of researching for her articles as well as taking photos and interviewing Bronx Science students. Kate is also a Social Media Editor for ‘The Science Survey’ and a photographer for ‘The Observatory’ yearbook. In her free time, Kate loves to bake, read, listen to music, and go on long walks in the city. In the future, Kate hopes to study history and statistics in college and work on a college newspaper.
Gabriel McCarthy, Staff Reporter
Gabriel McCarthy is a Managing Editor and Advisory Editor for ‘The Science Survey.’ He is responsible for editing articles of various sections written by his classmates. He has a passion for journalism, and he loves to read and write engaging articles. He loves journalism because it can tell an engaging story while also informing the reader at the same time. He also loves taking photos for the newspaper and believes that photos can capture a part of a story in a way that writing cannot. Outside of school, Gabriel is a nationally-ranked fencer and spends his time either doing homework or practicing. He believes that editorials are a reflection of the author and that they can tell a much deeper story. In college, Gabriel wishes to study political science and work in a related field. In the foreseeable future, he has no intention of quitting journalism and hopes to be able to spread information in some capacity even after he graduates.
Arianna Hwang, Staff Reporter
Arianna Hwang is an Editorial Editor for ‘The Science Survey.' She enjoys reading and writing articles as she believes it is important to hear the opinions of different people and read their life stories. Arianna thinks that journalism is a great creative outlet and that it gives people an opportunity to be heard. She values photographs that can both tell a story and add to the article by providing more realism to the piece. Arianna also thinks that photographs are important visuals that can capture the attention of the audience. In her free time, Arianna watches movies and shows on Disney+ and Netflix including ‘The Good Place,’ ‘Cruella,’ ‘Encanto,’ and ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events.’ She also reads dystopian and fantasy books on Libby. In the future, she plans on traveling all around the world and sampling different cuisines, similar to The Amazing Race. Arianna plans on pursuing a career in the medical field, running a blog on the side, and cooking as a hobby.
Astrid Grimskog-Tran, Staff Reporter
Astrid Grimskog-Tran is a Graphic Designer and an Academics Section Editor for ‘The Observatory’ yearbook. She is also a Staff Reporter for 'The Science Survey.' Astrid finds that the most appealing aspect of journalism is discovering people’s stories and being able to share them with the world. Outside of school, Astrid enjoys reading books, watching movies, and spending time with her family, as well as solving various types of puzzles and exploring the city while Geocaching with her sister.