Cori Mayer, a seventh-grader at Evergreen Middle School, was chosen by the Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers (CCFLT) as the winner of their annual student essay contest. This year's theme is "unmasking culture through language" and students were asked to write about an aspect of the culture they found the most surprising, and why knowledge of this cultural aspect is important. Cori is studying Spanish with Ms. Kim Parfitt, and wrote about how respect for elders is expressed by word choice in the Spanish language. In addition to the honor of being chosen as the winner of this state-wide contest, Cori received a check for $25 and a plaque. Also, her essay will be published in the organization's professional journal, Peals. Ms. Parfitt accepted the award on Cori's behalf at the CCFLT's annual conference at the end of February.