York University’s Portuguese & Luso-Brasilian Studies in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies (LA&PS) has announced Wendy Roza as the recipient of the Portuguese Gives You Wings award, sponsored by Azores Airlines.
This award aims to recognize academic excellence in an elementary Portuguese language class (POR1000).
Roza excelled in Portuguese 1000, earning a final grade of A+. She will receive a free trip to the beautiful region of the Azores, Portugal, courtesy of Azores Airlines.
Roza is currently pursuing a degree in psychology, and learning Portuguese at York has been a positive experience for her.
“Portuguese class at York University was a great experience for me,” she said. “Even though I went in with some exposure to the language, I still had a lot to learn. I can truly say that at the end of the year, my Portuguese has greatly improved. I can only thank Professor Inês Cardoso for her excellent teaching methods and for pushing her students to do their best.”
Roza said the combination of oral and written exercises helped her to feel confident in the language.
“Portuguese 1000 is great for anyone who wishes to learn a new language and learn about the Portuguese and Brazilian culture,” she said.
Roza will experience life in the Azores, an archipelago widely recognized by UNESCO and National Geographic, among other agencies, for its natural beauty, ecological and sustainable development. It is known for its açorianidade, a term coined by 20th century Azorean intellectual Vitorino Nemésio that stands for the particular identity of its inhabitants. The Azores islands are also well known as one of the hypotheses for the location of the lost continent of Atlantis.
This award is representative of the overall program efforts to provide students from first to final year with significant and meaningful opportunities to engage with the language. It offers a privileged space designed to stimulate not only language interaction, but also the sense of belonging to a wider, global community while valuing cultural difference and the richness of a language within its regional variations.
Azores Airlines is a conglomerate dedicated to the aviation industry. Founded in 1941, the head office is located in Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel, Azores. With representation in several countries, it boasts over eighty destinations, with international, national and island routes. Azores Airlines’ principles, based on values such as quality, professionalism, punctuality and hospitality, also feature the company’s commitment to collaborative initiatives, such as this award, as well as any others destined to promote the Portuguese language. Azores Airlines in Canada is also a valued community partner of the program’s advanced experiential education course “Language in Context: Portuguese in the Greater Toronto Area”.
The official award ceremony will take place in October at York.