By Sujin Kim ’18, Marketing and Communications Student Intern
Senior Nick Tursi returned from the 9th “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign Secondary School Students in Kunming, China on October 31. Nick advanced in the team event to the semifinals. The first round of competition was comprised of an individual computer exam, speech, and talent show. Nick explains “my team finished second in both North and South America in the first round, which placed us into the second round/semifinals. The semifinals was the top 30 teams out of over 90 teams, and comprised of team building events that included a Chinese twist.” The competition involved advancing through rounds of events assessing Chinese proficiency, including language proficiency, knowledge of China and Chinese culture, and comprehensive learning ability and application skills. Mandarin Teacher Li Li accompanied and advised Nick during the competition.
He credits the Mandarin program at MFS for preparing him for success in the international competition. He said, “I’ve been studying for seven years in the MFS Mandarin program, and I attribute much of my success to MFS. These seven years in Chinese haven’t been easy, but have certainly prepared me for events like this one.”
Nick described the trip as memorable, but the most outstanding experience “was meeting other Mandarin-speaking students from all over the world,” said Nick. “There were over 85 countries represented at the competition, and it was amazing to interact with people from six different continents. This exchange of culture and values was powerful. I remember standing in the opening ceremony looking at all of the flags of the countries represented. I was taken aback by the diversity of everyone represented, yet we all shared the ability to speak Mandarin.”
Nick represented the New York and Boston region of the United States in the competition.
Previously, Nick competed in the preliminary division for U.S. high school students in Boston in March, and placed second. At the same competition in April 2015, Nick also earned a second place award.