The sixth annual California Seal of Biliteracy Award Program was held May 15 at the Sequoia Conference Center to recognize and celebrate 109 graduating high school seniors from eight schools in Humboldt County. The list of recipients and their schools can be found below.

These students achieved a high level of proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing in at least two languages, one of which is English.

The keynote speaker was Adyn McCabe, who was awarded the California Seal of Biliteracy as well as the International Baccalaureate Diploma upon her 2014 graduation from McKinleyville High School.

Students who are certified to have the Seal added to their high school diplomas meet rigorous criteria in both English and at least one other language, including grades, written essays, and comprehensive interviews conducted by HSU Department of World Languages and Cultures professors, high school world language teachers and community members, among other requirements.

Nine students throughout the county received the Seal for proficiency in three languages, including some exchange students.

The awards program included a welcome by Dr. Chris Hartley, Humboldt County Superintendent of Schools and personal reflections from two Seal recipients:  Eureka High School’s trilingual (English, Urdu, Spanish) student Saahirah Mahmood and Northcoast Preparatory Academy’s Russian exchange student Omar Gadzhiev, who is also trilingual (Russina, English, French).

The keynote speaker was Adyn McCabe, who was awarded the California Seal of Biliteracy as well as the International Baccalaureate Diploma upon her 2014 graduation from McKinleyville High School. She was an interviewer at this year’s Seal of Biliteracy assessment day and is a recent Spanish and International Studies graduate from HSU. Los Bagels provided catering and Eli Baginski provided harp music.

The Seal of Biliteracy is recognized as a valuable asset for employment, college admission, cultural identity, and personal growth. The program is sponsored by the Humboldt County Office of Education, in partnership with Humboldt State University, College of the Redwoods, and coordinated with each school’s counselors and language teachers.