Senate Concurrent Resolution 555

(As Adopted by Senate and House)

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING AND CONGRATULATING 17-YEAR-OLD MISSISSIPPI SCHOOL FOR MATH AND SCIENCE STUDENT SYDNEY MATRISCIANO OF WINONA, MISSISSIPPI, FOR WINNING THE 2017 "YOUNG ORATOR PRIZE" AT THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIADA OF SPOKEN RUSSIAN IN MOSCOW."

WHEREAS, a 17-year-old student at the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science has won an international competition among high school students in the Russian language; and

WHEREAS, Sydney Matrisciano of Winona captured a Young Orator prize at the International Olympiada of Spoken Russian in Moscow. In her winning speech, Matrisciano described her experiences studying Russian abroad in the Summer of 2017 and her love for the Russian language. She also gave a dramatic recitation of a poem by Russian Romantic-era Author, Alexander Pushkin; and

WHEREAS, "I never, ever expected to win," Matrisciano said in a news release, adding that she began her three-minute speech slowly to combat nerves and gain confidence. As she neared the end of reciting the poem "I Loved You," she said that many of the of judges, teachers, fellow competitors, and other observers in the audience were saying the verses along with her and taking video; and

WHEREAS, the daughter of Suzanne and Louis Matrisciano of Winona, the senior was one of 12 winners in the Young Orator event held December 4-8, 2017, at the Pushkin Institute, which specializes in the teaching of Russian as a foreign language. The 150 contenders from around the world also wrote essays, took grammar tests and made oral presentations on aspects of Russian civilization. The contestants demonstrated their conversational abilities in role-play with a partner as the judges listened. Each competitor also had an individual scenario-based conversation with the judges; and

WHEREAS, Matrisciano, one of six students representing the United States at the Olympiada, is a second-year student of Mississippi School for Math and Science World Language Teacher Margaret Mary Henry. She began her journey to compete in Moscow in April when she won a Gold Medal in the regional Olympiada Competition at Rhodes College in Memphis. From the top scorers in regional competitions, the American Councils for International Education selected the national team through an application and interview process. "Sydney is a marvelous student," Henry said in the news release. "She combines her natural gift for languages with a prodigious work ethic and a spirit of adventure. We are tremendously proud of her"; and

WHEREAS, in 2016, Sydney spent six weeks studying Russian in Moldova, a nation that was once a Soviet republic, after winning a scholarship under the National Security Language Initiative for Youth, which sends high school students abroad to study languages that the federal government deems critical to U.S. political and economic interests. Matrisciano hopes to have a career in the U.S. Foreign Service and learned on the day she left for the Moscow Olympiada that she had received a full four-year QuestEridge Scholarship to Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she plans to specialize in Russian studies and political science; and

WHEREAS, "Attending the International Olympiada of Spoken Russian was confirmation and validation of everything I've been striving for with my language study," said Matrisciano, who has also studied French, Italian and Latin. "This competition proved to me that not only will my languages take me places, but once there, I will hold my own and succeed"; and it is with great pride that we recognize a young Mississippi citizen who has brought honor to her school, her community and to the State of Mississippi:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby commend and congratulate 17-year-old Mississippi School for Math and Science Student Sydney Matrisciano of Winona, Mississippi, for winning the 2017 "Young Orator Prize" at the International Olympiada of Spoken Russian in Moscow, and extend her our best wishes for future career success.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Sydney Matrisciano and her parents, forwarded to the Superintendent of the Mississippi School for Math and Science, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.