Lauren Dittrick from the CWRU Korean Program won the Excellent Award at the 6th Midwest Korean Speech Contest, held at the Korean Cultural Center of Chicago on April 5, 2025. She received a $500 cash prize and a scholarship for one semester of study abroad at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Korea. The Midwest Korean Speech Contest is a competition for students learning Korean at universities in the Midwest region of the U.S., co-hosted by the Midwest Association of Teachers of Korean (MATK) and the Korean Education Center in Chicago. This year, about 40 students from 19 universities who passed preliminary rounds competed across three competition levels. Awards included the Highest Standing Awards (one per level), Excellent Awards (one per level), and Honorable Mentions (four for the beginner level and three each for the intermediate and advanced levels). Winners received prize money, scholarships, and gifts. Two CWRU representatives, Jessica Norek and Lauren Dittrick, competed at the beginner and intermediate levels, respectively. They also enjoyed cultural experience activities during the competition, including trying on Hanbok, watching Korean traditional dance and Daegeum (Korean bamboo flute) performances, a K-pop dance performance, and participating in traditional games such as Tuho, Jegichagi, Ddakji Chigi, and more.