Mahelet Asnake (Mali) first started learning Mandarin Chinese in junior kindergarten at the Martin Luther King Jr School (MLK) in their Chinese Immersion program in 2011. She spent all of elementary school learning Chinese and returned in the 8th grade after taking a two-year break learning French at Putnam Avenue Upper School (PAUS). She continued her Chinese studies with Ms. Xiaoshu Jing at CRLS. She first participated in the National Chinese Speech Contest (NCSC) during her freshman year in 2021 and received an honorable mention. This year she came back strong and won 2nd place under the guidance of her Post-AP Chinese teacher Dr. James (Zhiming) Chen. Mali will also be going to China for the first time ever with a seperate program, CIEE. She is forever grateful for the opportunities for and memories of learning the Chinese language and culture, and she is thankful for everyone who supported her along the way.