Modesto, California -- Stanislaus County was the first county in the nation to offer a gold seal for students proficient in another language through its Office of Education. Now in its fourth year, the Seal of Multilingual Proficiency program recognized 154 students this year.

The seal appears on a student's diploma, for college admissions screeners, scholarship application readers and prospective employers to see. To earn it, students must submit a portfolio including an autobiography in English and an essay in the foreign language, pass an oral interview in both languages and produce an on-demand writing sample, said Martin Macias, program lead at the county office.

"Being proficient in multiple languages enhances a student's education and value in the marketplace," said Superintendent of Schools Tom Changnon. "Our economy is tied to that of other nations, and Californians who can participate across international borders bring strength and potential to this state's global enterprises."

But a high school senior fluent in three languages said it best in his acceptance speech for Seals of Multilingual Proficiency in Assyrian and Persian (Farsi) at the Gallo Center for the Arts last week.

Learning another language, Turlock High senior Eilan Shahbaz told the crowd, "teaches a person how to study and learn. It teaches discipline: doing what you know you must do even though you don't want to do it. It teaches you about the richness of other cultures."

More than anything, Shahbaz said, "Learning other languages gives you a different perspective toward life -- a different lens to see the world around us. It expands your mind and opens many doors for you."

Speaking after the event, Shahbaz said he was born in Iran, emigrating from there seven years ago. Assyrian was his first language. He learned Persian in three years of school in Iran and also studied English. Before coming to the United States, his family spent eight months in Austria, where he attended school and struggled to learn in German.

He brushed up on his Persian before the oral interview by reading Harry Potter books translated for the Iranian market.

Now he's in Turlock and studying Spanish. "I thought it would be more practical and useful," said Shahbaz, who plans to be a doctor. He's applying to top-tier colleges this year with two seals announcing his accomplishment.

The vast majority of this year's seals of multilingual proficiency went to Spanish speakers. Other languages students earned seals for were Arabic, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese and Italian, and other students are fluent in Persian or Assyrian