Scholarship News
2024 Emily de Montluzin Foreign Language Scholarship Awarded to Grace Elizabeth Oliver
Our Lady Academy senior Grace Elizabeth Oliver has been awarded the $5,000 Emily de Montluzin Foreign Language Scholarship for 2024. She becomes the thirty-seventh recipient of the scholarship, which is awarded annually by a board of directors to a superior foreign language student from any of the four high schools in Hancock County.
Oliver will enter the University of Mississippi, where she will major in biology/pre-medicine with a double minor in business and Spanish.
“Ever since I can remember, I have dreamed of becoming a doctor,” Oliver says. “This dream came from the exposure to children from different backgrounds that I encountered at my mother’s job” as a speech language pathologist at a special needs preschool, a facility where Oliver volunteered for three years, assisting staff and helping care for children with disabilities.
“My experiences there are the reason that my goal is to become a pediatrician,” she adds. She hopes eventually to practice in Hancock County.
A month spent shadowing Dr. Courtney Clark, a board-certified pediatrician at Oschner Hospital in Bay St. Louis, MS, strengthened her ambition to specialize in pediatric medicine.
Oliver, who has studied Spanish for six years, notes that she realized early that there is a distinct need for bilingual physicians, especially in pediatrics.
“I can understand that not being able to communicate with a physician regarding a child’s health would be extremely difficult when there is a language barrier,” she says. “There are more than 40 million Spanish speaking residents in the United States and over ten percent of those residents cannot speak English at all. Patients who do not receive language-concordant physicians are more likely to experience miscommunication and adverse events,” especially since “cultural variations play a major role in healthcare decision-making.”
Ranked second in her class at Our Lady Academy, Oliver is a member of the National Honor Society, the national science honor society, the national Spanish honor society, and Mu Alpha Theta, the national mathematics honor society.
She has served as class president for each of her four years at OLA, where she was in addition co-captain of Our Lady Academy Varsity soccer team for four years and co-captain of the Gulf Coast United Select Soccer Program for three years.
“I am beyond honored to recommend Grace Oliver for the Emily de Montluzin Scholarship,” writes Leigh C. Chapman, Assistant Principal of OLA, an opinion echoed by Oliver’s Spanish teacher, Mrs. Selinda Chacón, who praises Oliver’s “remarkable work ethic and devotion to excellence.”
Oliver is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Oliver of Bay St. Louis. MS.
Lorraine de Montluzin, Secretary-Treasurer of the Scholarship Board, awarded Honorary Doctor of Humanities degree by Francis Marion University
Emily Lorraine de Montluzin, Secretary-Treasurer of the Emily de Montluzin Foreign Language Scholarship, has been awarded an honorary degree, Doctor of Humanities, by Francis Marion University in Florence, South Carolina.
De Montluzin (B.A., Newcomb College of Tulane University; M.A. and Ph.D., Duke University) taught full-time as a professor of history at Francis Marion University until her retirement in 2005, and in recent years she has taught as a part-time senior faculty member in the Department of History.
The honorary doctorate was conferred by the Board of Trustees of FMU during commencement exercises on May 4, 2024. The academic hooding was performed by Trustees H. Randall Dozier, Chair of the Board, and George McIntyre, both of them de Montluzin’s former students.
The accompanying citation, read during the commencement exercises, took note of de Montluzin’s teaching, her extensive scholarly publication record in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British press history, and her contributions to professional service, especially her leadership as a “staunch defender of the academy’s most important and cherished institutions, most especially tenure, academic freedom, and shared governance.”
Luther F. Carter, President of Francis Marion University, stated during the commencement exercises that de Montluzin “for fifty years has been the guardian of shared governance and our principal champion for faculty rights. No one on this campus loves this university more, and no one has worked more diligently in preserving its integrity.”
De Montluzin, a longtime resident of Bay St. Louis, MS, and (since Hurricane Katrina) now of Florence, SC, has been a member of the Emily de Montluzin Foreign Language Scholarship Board since 1995 and has served as its secretary-treasurer since 2005. She is the daughter of the late Emily de Montluzin.
The Emily de Montluzin Foreign Language Scholarship Turns Forty
Reprinted from the Sea Coast Echo, Bay St. Louis, MS, March 11, 2024
The Emily de Montluzin Foreign Language Scholarship Fund will this spring celebrate the fortieth anniversary of its presentation of awards to superior college-bound seniors from Hancock County high schools who have excelled in the study of foreign languages for at least two years and undertake to continue the study of the same or another language in their freshman year in college.
On 30 June 1983, at a reception on the occasion of Emily de Montluzin’s retirement as a French and Latin teacher at Bay Senior High School, friends and former students announced the establishment of the Emily de Montluzin Foreign Language Scholarship in her honor.
That evening she told a large audience of well-wishers, “People often say to college students, ‘Don’t be a teacher! You can have a much brighter future in almost anything else!’ But I can say only that I have loved being a teacher—that I wouldn’t for anything have missed knowing so many marvelous boys and girls and their parents—and that a celebration like this one tonight could happen only to a teacher!
“How delighted I am, after so many happy years of teaching,” she added, that “I can enjoy the prospect that many, many students will be assisted in their college careers, encouraged in their love of languages, and no doubt inspired to travel to Europe thanks to the fund that has been established in my name tonight!”
Since that night, the Emily de Montluzin Foreign Language Scholarship has been presented to 36 superior college-bound seniors from Hancock County high schools, and several of them have been two-time winners.
From its initial amount of $500 the award has now grown tenfold to a $5,000 scholarship, thanks in large part to many donations. The winners, chosen in a rigorous competition by the scholarship’s board of directors, may use the award at any college of the recipient’s choice.
The reception on that June night in 1983 had been organized in secret by Emily de Montluzin’s former student Keith S. Folse, now a retired professor of English as a Second Language at the University of Central Florida and a member of the Scholarship Board, and by her Bay Senior High colleague, Mary Lee Lagarde. It was preceded by speeches delivered by her students—in French by Mary Langenbacker, the first scholarship winner and now an Ocean Springs attorney and Vice-President of the Board, with English translation supplied by Stephanie Power; and in Latin by Adam Sleap, with English translation by Tiffany Ward—as well as by the presentation of citations of appreciation from the mayors of Bay St. Louis and Waveland.
Awards over the years have been given to students embarking on a variety of careers that benefit directly or indirectly from knowledge of foreign languages, including diplomatic and government service, international business, teaching, law, medicine, nursing, engineering, and translating Russian.
A number of winners have been accepted into the highly selective Croft Institute of International Studies at the University of Mississippi.
Some scholarship recipients have chosen to continue their study of French, Spanish, German, or Latin begun in their high-school classrooms. Others have embarked on acquiring additional languages such as ancient Greek, Italian, Russian, and Japanese; and several have entered intensive programs to acquire fluency in Korean, Chinese, and Arabic.
Many have taken advantage of their scholarship awards to spend one or two semesters of study abroad, perfecting their speaking skills in the languages of their choice and acquiring personal knowledge of the culture of their host countries. They have ridden camels, conversed with shopkeepers in bazaars, swum in the Mediterranean, and walked the Great Wall of China.
Several have pursued graduate or professional studies at the Master’s or doctoral level.
“While it is an honor to thrust a deserving student forward, the true joy in what makes this foundation unique is the connection we make with our scholars, who stay in touch and update us through the years,” says Joseph Wusnach, a chemist in Alabama and President of the Board.
The fortieth anniversary of the presentation of the scholarship is in many ways a celebration of the career of the late Emily de Montluzin, who died in 2020 at the age of 105 after many years of post-retirement traveling to Europe and auditing of university courses in French, German, English, history, and mythology for pleasure.
“She was a magnificent teacher, who loved her students and loved what she taught, whether it was explaining the intricacies of French and Latin conjugations or mesmerizing classes with a retelling of Les Misérables,” says her daughter, Lorraine de Montluzin, a professor of history at Francis Marion University in Florence, SC, and Secretary-Treasurer of the Board;“and her students consistently won honors with their distinguished academic performance in the National French Test and the National Latin Test.”
Believing that the study of foreign languages should include more than grammar and vocabulary, she introduced her classes to the history and culture of France and Rome, with weeks set aside for French art and music and Roman mythology, complete with trips to New Orleans to visit the City Art Museum and attend performances of the New Orleans Opera, not to mention annual French and Roman banquets and projects ranging from the construction of a model of a typical Alsatian house to the building of a fully functional Roman catapult.
“Always she encouraged her students to travel, telling them that if they planned and saved, all of them could see Paris and Versailles or walk through the Forum one day,” adds her daughter. “Dozens of times postcards would arrive with an excited message: ‘I did it, Mrs. de Montluzin! I got to France!’”
As Folse has put it, “Mrs. de Montluzin magically opened up the world” for her students.
Langenbacker, as first recipient of the scholarship and Vice-President since 2020, has for many years personally met with each winner.
“Each year I look forward to presenting the award on behalf of the Board,” she says. “It gives me an opportunity to meet our scholarship recipients and share a bit of the forty-year history of the scholarship.
“The recipients are usually surprised to learn Emily de Montluzin was, in fact, my teacher at Bay Senior High. Her legacy as an educator continues as a result of the award bearing her name. I’m honored to have a small role in that.”
One award winner sums up her experience in a letter to the board of directors, writing, “The scholarship has given me the opportunity to travel the world, which has always been a dream of mine,” adding, “I would like to thank you for opening those doors for me.”
Interested students can find complete information concerning how to apply for the Emily de Montluzin Scholarship by visiting the scholarship’s website, www.demontluzinscholarship.org. All completed applications must be postmarked by no later than 15 March.
Previous Winners of the Emily de Montluzin Foreign Language Scholarship
1984: Mary Langenbacker (Bay Senior High School)
1985: George Paul (Bay Senior High School)
1986: J’lene Noto (Our Lady Academy)
1987: Georgiana Dagnall (Our Lady Academy)
1988: Joseph Overal (St. Stanislaus College Prep)
1989: Jennifer Schreiber (Hancock High School)
1990: Stacie Warren (Hancock High School)
1991: Julie Ladner (Bay Senior High School)
1992: Malacia Strom (Bay Senior High School)
1993: Carolyn Watts (Bay Senior High School)
1994: Katherine Edwards (Bay Senior High School)
1995: Jennifer Von Antz (Bay Senior High School)
1996: Amanda Desirée Wilcox (Bay Senior High School)
1997: Gleeson Murphy, Jr. (Hancock High School)
1998: Rachel Spear (Bay Senior High School)
1999: Luke Payne (Hancock High School)
2000: Heather Wopat (Bay Senior High School)
2001: Melissa Gaines (Bay Senior High School)
2002: Dustin Cody Bankston (Bay Senior High School)
2003: Alicia Asper (Our Lady Academy)
2004: Adair Beany (St. Stanislaus College Prep)
2005: Elizabeth Floyd (Bay Senior High School)
2006: Colleen O’Brien (Our Lady Academy)
2007: Leah Tucker (Our Lady Academy)
2008: Megan Gargiulo (Our Lady Academy)
2009: Charles Guy Wood, Jr. (St. Stanislaus College Prep)
2010: Rebecca Hightower (Hancock High School)
2011: Miranda Adams (Bay Senior High School)
2012: Kirby Laura Rhodes (Our Lady Academy)
2013: Nicki Lee Reeder (Our Lady Academy)
2014: Leah D. Sandoz (Our Lady Academy)
2015: Megan Moree Kyrnen (Our Lady Academy)
2016: Megan Moree Krynan (graduate of Our Lady Academy; student at the Croft Institute at the University of Mississippi)
2017: No award presented
2018: Abby Frances Guy (Our Lady Academy)
2019: Hanna Noelle Dawley (Our Lady Academy)
2020: Abby Frances Guy (graduate of Our Lady Academy; student at Mississippi State University)
2021: Danielle Rita Dey (Our Lady Academy)
2022: Danielle Rita Dey (graduate of Our Lady Academy; student at the University of Mississippi)
2023: Peyton Autumn Laurent (Our Lady Academy)
Emily de Montluzin Foreign Language Scholarship Board Raises the Amount of the Annual Scholarship to $5,000
The Board of Directors of the Emily de Montluzin Foreign Language Scholarship has announced that the amount of the annual Foreign Language Scholarship has been increased from $3,000 to $5,000, beginning with the 2021 award.
A bequest from the late Emily de Montluzin, who died on October 20, 2020, plus numerous gifts from friends and former students in her memory, have made possible the near doubling of the amount of the annual scholarship.
The Emily de Montluzin Foreign Language Scholarship was established in 1983 by former students and friends of Emily Hosmer de Montluzin on the occasion of her retirement as a Latin and French teacher at Bay Senior High School in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
The scholarship is awarded each year to a graduating senior from any one of the high schools in Hancock County who has excelled in the study of a foreign language and plans to continue that study in a college or university of his or her choice. To date it has been presented to thirty-four exemplary foreign language students.
“Teaching was the love of Emily de Montluzin’s life,” said her daughter, Lorraine de Montluzin. “She would be so pleased that the scholarship established in her honor has reached this important milestone and will now be able to provide substantially more financial assistance to outstanding foreign language students in Hancock County.”
Joseph Wusnack, President of the Scholarship Board, added, “Emily de Montluzin spent many years as a teacher with the goal of thrusting students forward into the career path best for them. This scholarship, which bears her name, continues that goal.”
The Board has announced that all applications from qualified students must be postmarked no later than March 15 for consideration for the 2021 award.
News from Megan Krynen,
Recipient of the 2015 and 2016 Emily de Montluzin Foreign Language Scholarship awards
[Letter received from Megan Krynen, a graduate of Our Lady’s Academy (Class of 2015), recipient of both the 2015 and 2016 Emily de Montluzin Foreign Language Scholarship awards. After completing two degrees from the Croft Institute for International Studies at the University of Mississippi (where she double-majored in International Studies and Italian), she sent the Scholarship Board the following letter:]
April 2021
Dear Dr. Emily Lorraine de Montluzin,
It brought me great sadness to hear of your mother’s passing. I am very thankful for the impact you both had on my life. I graduated Ole Miss with a degree in Public Policy Leadership in May 2019 and then went to Italy for 6 months to study and finished my second degree in International Governance and politics / Italian. I moved to Washington, D. C. in January 2020 and now work in the U. S. Senate. I am pursuing a masters in Defense Strategies from the Naval War College. It has been way too long since I updated you so I wanted to offer my condolences and say thank you!
Sincerely,
Megan Krynen
Vote of Thanks
Whereas Ellis C. Cuevas has retired as a voting member from the Board of Directors of the Emily de Montluzin Foreign Language Scholarship Fund effective March 2020,
And whereas he has served faithfully and diligently as a member of the Board of Directors since the establishment of the Scholarship Fund in 1983 and as President of the Scholarship Fund for many years,
The Board of Directors votes its thanks and appreciation to Ellis C. Cuevas and accords him the status of President Emeritus of the Board.
Done March 26, 2020
News from Kirby Rhodes,
Recipient of the 2012 Emily de Montluzin Foreign Language Scholarship
April 27, 2016
Dear Board Members,
Wow. I looked up and I am less than three weeks away from graduating [from the University of Mississippi]. I know that it has been quite a while since I have written. . . . I believe the last time I wrote you was sometime during my sophomore year.
So, to catch you up: I have completed my minor in Arabic. In fact I finished taking Arabic classes shortly after the last time I wrote you. Since then, I have achieved second and third minors in psychology and intelligence and security studies. This past summer I had a wonderful opportunity to intern with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, better known as NCIS. And, no, not the TV show, although I would not mind Gibbs as a boss or DiNozzo as a partner. . . .
For this internship I moved myself up to Washington, DC, for three months. I learned many things while living and working up there, one of which was that I do not enjoy that big-city-living lifestyle. Lucky for me, most people who work in DC live outside the city and commute back and forth.
This past fall I interned with the Oxford Police Department. I made some great friends and learned many valuable lessons. Also during that semester I had the opportunity to travel to Canada and present at the 5 Eyes Analytical Conference. Five Eyes is an international meeting between the “five eyes” of intelligence, in other words, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Government officials, military personnel, and intelligence analysts attend from all 5 countries each year. This year my group and I (there were 8 of us) presented in front of almost 400 people, all of which could be categorized into one of the groups listed above. Our topic was Russian foreign policy in the Middle East in the next 3-5 years.
This semester I have spend preparing for graduation and life afterwards. I am taking 18 hours, including a thesis course. In fact, I just completed my thesis and submitted it before I sat down to write you. My thesis topic is right-wing extremism and the threat it poses to law enforcement. Thirty pages, 25 sources, 14 weeks, and some tears, blood, and sweat later,I finally completed it! Come May 14th, I will graduate with cum laude honors and a B.S. in criminal justice and minors in Arabic, psychology, and intelligence and security studies.
Which brings me to my post-graduation plans. In a nutshell, I have no idea what I will be doing. I was accepted into the criminal justice Masters program here at Ole Miss. As of right now, that is where I will be in August. Fingers crossed that I get the graduate assistantship, because I will not have to pay tuition. I have also applied for positions with the Oxford Police Department and the United States Capitol Police. I have not yet heard from Oxford, but the Capitol Police want me to move on to the next phase of application. Basically there are a whole bunch of moving parts and I have options.
I hope this letter finds all of you well. I would like to once again tell everyone how grateful I am for having been gifted with this scholarship, way back in 2012. Has it really been four years already? Without it, I probably would not have attended Ole Miss. And I definitely would not be where I am today. So thank you!
Kirby Rhodes