On April 22, approximately 250 Portuguese Bridge students from six high schools traveled to the University of Utah to participate in the annual Utah High School Portuguese Fair.

Students participated in competitive events in Portuguese, including prepared talks, impromptu talks, show and tell, humorous stories, poetry recitation, karaoke, impromptu conversations, skits, and musical performances. Judges for the events included Portuguese student volunteers from the University of Utah and Portuguese faculty from various universities and schools.

 

A highlight of the day was the Portuguese Bowl, a quiz game requiring students to answer challenging questions about Portuguese grammar, vocabulary, and culture drawn from this year’s Portuguese 3116 course. Each school’s team demonstrated an impressive mastery of these subjects.

 

In their free time between events, students visited tables set up by representatives from Utah State University, the University of Utah, Utah Valley University and Brigham Young University, who answered questions about their Portuguese programs, scholarships and study abroad opportunities.

 

When asked what they liked about the Fair, one student replied, “the opportunity to meet Portuguese students from other schools,” and another mentioned “the chance to see that we’re a part of something bigger than just our own school.”

    Many thanks to all the volunteers who made this event possible, and to the Department of World Languages and Cultures at the U of U for providing financial support.