Stephanie Aguinaldo ’24 was at a crossroads in her French studies when World Languages Teacher Irina Posso Campana encouraged her to connect with the language through her passion for the arts by participating in Première Scène, a French Theatre Festival hosted by the Lycée Français de New York.

Since 2008, Oak Knoll students have participated in this annual event, and for Aguinaldo, the experience sparked her enthusiasm for francophone culture—a spark that helped her earn the prestigious Prix de Distinction award as a freshman at NYU.

Presented by the university’s department of French Literature, Thought, and Culture, the prize is especially meaningful as it is chosen directly by the professors based on the student’s academic performance and engagement with French language and culture outside of the classroom.

“I’ve been taking French since the beginning of freshman year at Oak Knoll, but I really didn’t like French,” she said. “I found it difficult, and it was just something I was really excited to drop.”

But then she accepted Posso Campana’s invitation to participate in the festival and even wrote her own short play, A Day on Earth, during her senior year.

“It was kind of a surreal moment,” she recalled of her sudden clarity: she loved combining the language with her love of acting. From there, she continued her French studies and expanded her involvement with the language at Oak Knoll, including participating in the French Club.

“I have to give a lot of my passion for French to Mr. Versailles and Madame Posso because they believed in me a lot of times when I didn’t believe in myself,” she said, adding that she also received encouragement from classmates when she sat in on an AP French class while considering a move from her then-current French class.

“I would say [Oak Knoll] gave me a lot of independence and confidence,” she said of her alma mater’s role in preparing her for college.

She gained so much independence and confidence in fact that in just a few short years, she went from nearly dropping French altogether to being inducted into La Société Honoraire de Français (French Honors Society) and earning the Michele Proia Award for French.

Aguinaldo, a film major, recently declared a minor in French and has combined her two loves by creating films in French. She further hopes to pursue graduate studies in France, with an even bolder goal involving her two loves.

“The Cannes Film Festival is like the ultimate dream,” she said. “If I get a movie in that festival, it would be a dream come true.”

In addition to declaring a minor in French, Aguinaldo also embraced Francophone culture at NYU by participating in NYU’s French House, serving as a judge for a film festival, participating in book nights, and even French yoga.