The Capistrano Valley Class of 2024 will include the first ever graduates of the Mandarin Immersion Program. CUSD Insider asked the seniors to reflect on their time with the program and share what they have planned for after graduation.

Michael Yousef

When did you start in the Mandarin Immersion Program?

1st grade-2011

Why did you join the Mandarin Immersion Program?

My parents made the decision to enroll me in Mandarin Immersion, and it was tough at first because I left a school where I already had friends. However, in hindsight it was the best decision they could have made for me. Parents really do know best.

What are your plans after you graduate from CUSD?

I will be attending Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland where I plan on studying mechanical engineering with a minor in Chinese language. I will also be playing on the baseball team at Hopkins which will be super fun along with my studies.

What other activities were you involved with in high school?

I was heavily involved with the baseball team, having played all four years and being a captain my senior year. I was also heavily involved in multiple clubs including the National Honor Society, the president of the National Chinese Honor Society, and the president of the True North Christian Club.

What was your favorite part of the Mandarin Immersion Program experience?

My favorite part of the MIP experience was the fact that I had the chance to grow friendships for 12 years. In most cases, you know certain people or you are acquaintances with most of the people at your school. But no where are you a part of the same group of people for 12 years. It is super cool to make new friends outside of MIP, but it is also special to know that there are always people you can fall back on each and every day. Not many places offer a place where you can essentially grow up with the same people even at school.

What aspect of the Mandarin Immersion Program surprised you the most?

I would say the part that surprised me the most was how well the language was taught. Because of the difficulty of the language, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect in the program. However, it has been nothing but quality and the teachers have been fantastic. They really know what they are doing, and everything is very well taught.

How has the Mandarin Immersion Program prepared you for life after graduation?

I think the best way that it has prepared me for life after college was by challenging me. Coming in to something new with no experience and having to learn it every day is definitely very hard. Not only that, but the difficulty of the language to begin with made every day a challenge in the beginning. These challenges, though, only made me better as learning to adapt and figure out how to get things done. Life will throw many challenges our way, and the most successful people are those who figure out how to push through them. Getting trained on this from a young age was very beneficial.

How will you use your Mandarin knowledge in your daily life?

My hope is that I can use my Mandarin skills as a part of my job in interacting with China, Taiwan, etc. I hope that I will become a valuable asset to a company that can use my language skills to help them accomplish their goals overseas.

What advice would you give other students considering joining the Mandarin Immersion Program?

I would say the best advice that I could give for someone considering joining MIP is to just do it. There are going to be challenges and easy times, good days and bad days, boring classes and fun classes, but that can be said about every experience. At the end of the day, persevering through the length of the program has set me up for success later in life. Chinese is becoming if not already is the best language to know for business relations. Everyone speaks English, but Mandarin is the next most spoken language in the world. Join, you won’t regret it.

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