A SPECIAL STUDENT

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK 2026: St. Kateri fourth grader, who speaks five languages, to take part in international competition

Eva Danilova Estefani and her mother, Anna, will travel to Frankfurt, Germany, from April 28-May 6 to take part in the Hi-Lingua International Language Competition in Spanish. (Mike Matvey photo)

Eva Danilova Estefani has an almost out-of-this-world talent for languages.

She grew up in a household where English and Russian — her mother Anna was born in the country and didn’t move to the United States until she was 18 — was spoken daily. When she was just 3 years old and living in Florida, she started learning Spanish when going to part-time day care. She then won a lottery to attend a school that offered a dual-language program.

“And the kindergarten teacher told me, ‘You know she is doing very well in Spanish. We have Spanish-speaking kids and she is already doing better,’ ” Anna said.

Eva, who is now 9 years old and a fourth grader at St. Kateri School in Schenectady, is ready to take her talents — she has also added Italian and Mandarin to the list of languages that she speaks — to the world stage after finishing first and winning the Gold Medal in Spanish in the Hi-Lingua International Language Competition for grades 3-5. Eva and her mother will travel to Frankfurt, Germany, from April 28-May 6 to compete in the Grand Final. For good measure, she also finished second and earned the Silver Medal in English.

The Hi-Lingua competition began in 2012 and according to their website it, “is a fun, learning and competition platform that unites four languages (German and French are also part of the competition), offering students in grades 3 to 11 the chance to improve their language skills, fostering a love for languages and promoting linguistic diversity. Hi-Lingua serves as a platform for individuals to demonstrate their language expertise, learn from their peers and gain recognition for their linguistic abilities. It plays a vital role in promoting language education and cultural exchange on a global scale.”

This year, over 4,000 students from 71 countries participated in the testing, which makes Eva’s accomplishments all the more impressive. Her mother said the first part was 40 multiple-choice questions that Eva took online on Dec. 7. She finished first in Spanish and second in English. This qualified her to take the speaking exam on Dec. 21 online with a Spanish language teacher from the University of Barcelona and she finished first.

Her skill with languages and her drive and work effort, even at a young age, has impressed Paige Humphrey, her fourth-grade teacher at St. Kateri.

“Eva is phenomenal, she is really driven for her education,” Humphrey said. “I have a few other students who speak a different language at home, but obviously none of my other students speak five languages. This is my first year teaching and it has been really exciting to have a student who is driven and passionate about her knowledge because it challenges me to show up every day and work hard for Eva.”

Eva’s work ethic extends outside the school building as she takes online classes in Spanish, Mandarin and Italian multiple times a week, while reading and writing Russian every day at home. 

Inspired to help her four younger siblings — Sofia, 4, Anastasia, 2, and twins, Anna and Nina, 7 months — Eva wants to write a workbook for kids about how to learn different languages simultaneously. She gives her ideas to her mother every night who records everything in Google Docs.

“She also has a great perspective on things and is a great leader to her peers in her classroom,” Humphrey added. “I find her very well-rounded. Knowing these languages and being recognized at a young age, I don’t know if I will ever meet another student like this. This opportunity for Eva is very special and it is really special for me to be part of her journey.”