Emery Haynes, a 2020 graduate of the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts (LSMSA), has been awarded the Best Graduating Senior Award by the LSMSA Hispanic Honorary Society Chapter (Plus Ultra Chapter), a chapter of the National Hispanic Honorary Society, sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP).

Only one graduating senior in each high school across the country – who is a member of the Hispanic Honorary Society – can be nominated by their teacher. This year, Emery Haynes, of Prairieville, was nominated and chosen for the award at LSMSA.

“Emery has been an outstanding student of Spanish at LSMSA for 3 consecutive years,” said Dr. Maria Sanchez, senior lecturer of Spanish. “She always kept high grades in and supported activities for Spanish.”

Haynes has served as a Spanish peer tutor for 2 years and has been selected to participate in the Southeastern Louisiana University Foreign Language Festival for 3 consecutive years.

She will attend Tulane University this fall to major in Cell and Molecular Biology.

The American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, that sponsors the Hispanic Honorary Society, was founded in 1917 in New York City, and it was the first association in the US devoted to the study of a modern foreign language. It was devoted to the Spanish language first, and it added Portuguese later. AATSP promotes the study and teaching of the Spanish and Portuguese languages and their corresponding Hispanic, Luso Brazilian and other related literatures and cultures at all levels of education.