MKA Upper School students shine at the 11th Chinese Bridge Speech Contest for U.S. High School Students

For the fifth time in five years, MKA students were not only invited to participate in the Chinese Bridge Speech Contest for U.S. High School Students, but also earned awards. In previous years, Sam Cleverly, Payson Ruhl, Isaiah Kramer, and Jayson Thompson have attended the competition and been recognized for their achievement in the language. This year, congratulations go to ninth-grader Julia Thompson and tenth-grader Sophia Ward, both of whom participated in the contest held on March 19 at the University of Massachusetts Boston, and both of whom earned awards for their accomplishments in the face of stiff competition.

Julia, a student in Chinese 2 Honors, won third place at the Intermediate Level with a speech about her experience of learning Chinese at the Middle and Upper Schools. Sophia, a student in AP Chinese, won third place at the Advanced Level with a solid performance in her speech, her reading of a Chinese story, and her responses during the Q&A session. In addition to their trophies, both girls also earned a sponsorship to attend a summer camp in China later this year.

Chinese teacher Dr. River He explains just how amazing this accomplishment is for Julia, Sophia, and the entire program: "This year is the first year when MKA sent two students to the competition and both of them reached the final round. I am excited to see both Julia and Sophia do such an outstanding job during these past four months leading up to the event. They are remarkable students, and this is a tremendous accomplishment for them personally as well as for the Chinese program at both the Middle and Upper Schools.