Etiane brings a rare combination of creativity, curiosity, and generosity to everything she does, and she’s done so much for the Department and the Faculty. I had the pleasure and privilege to teach her this year, and she always arrived in translation classes with fresh ideas, impossibly thoughtful questions that challenged everyone, and an energy that made the classroom a livelier and more joyful place to learn for all. She’s a truly deserving recipient.
Dr Elisa Sampson Vera Tudela, Reader in Latin American Culture
11 August 2026
Modern Languages student wins Jelf Medal for Faculty of Arts & Humanities
Etiane Cheung, who graduated from the Modern Languages with a Year Abroad (French and Spanish) this summer, has received the Jelf Medal for her academic aptitude and involvement in King’s community.
The Jelf Medal is given to the student who, in the view of the Vice-Chancellor, has most distinguished themselves during their undergraduate course in the college in the Faculty of Arts & Humanities. Recipients are chosen based on their academic proficiency and involvement in societies and sports at King’s.
Etiane was nominated for her intellectual adventurousness, rigour and originality, and her ability to connect ideas across the many linguistic, literary and cultural specialisms of the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, where her studies were based.
Receiving the Jelf Medal was a huge surprise and a really meaningful way to finish my degree. The award feels like a real culmination of everything I’ve been fortunate enough to experience during my time at King’s – academically, through the year abroad, and through my work within the university community. It’s something I’m incredibly grateful for.
Etiane Cheung, Modern Languages with a Year Abroad graduate
Outside of her degree, Etiane was editor-in-chief of the French language student magazine Des Nouvelles Héloïse? and co-edited the Spanish equivalent, Sobremesa. She also made a significant contribution to the Department’s outreach activities by running the French writing competition for A-Level students, and served as a Student Staff Liaison Committee representative for two years.
Etiane also worked as a Student Ambassador by supporting open days, creating web and social media content, leading bilingual campus tours in Mandarin and English, visiting schools, and playing a leading role in outreach events, workshops and teachers’ conferences.
She has previously been awarded the Baroness von Schlippenbach Prize, the Edith Baer Scholarship, the Simon Gaunt Prize, and a King's Undergraduate Research Fellowship.
We’re thrilled that Etiane has won the Jelf Medal! It’s a wonderful recognition of her contribution to the Department and the Faculty, both inside and outside the classroom. Multiple colleagues contributed to her nomination, which is testament to the impression she has made in the Department. Etiane’s presence has genuinely made King’s a better place, and her intelligence, positivity and maturity are inspiring.
Professor Sarah Bowden, Head of the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures
As part of her degree, Etiane spent a year abroad studying at the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon in France and Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain, which she credits for deepening her understanding of language, culture and identity, and shaping her research interests.
Now she has finished her undergraduate degree, Etiane will continue her studies at King’s through the Language and Cultural Diversity MA, and is excited to explore questions around language, identity, multilingualism and education.
Coming from a family where my grandmother is illiterate, I remember arriving feeling quite uncertain about whether I belonged in academia, or even in such a big city like London. The support I received from staff, particularly within the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, gave me the confidence to pursue opportunities I never imagined I would. The contrast between my grandmother’s experience of education and my own has stayed with me throughout my degree. It’s a reminder that opportunities can change dramatically across generations, and that’s why graduating with the prestigious Jelf Medal feels especially meaningful.
Etiane Cheung
She credits her time in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures with giving her the space to explore her own ideas and curiosity and praises the sense of community she has found.
I’ve become part of the furniture, as the Department has joked many times, and I’ll miss that community enormously!
Etiane Cheung
In this story
Professor of German and Medieval Studies
Reader in Latin American Culture