Welcome!
Hello, and welcome to my portfolio! My name is Michelle Lupisan. I studied as a Japanese Language and Culture major in the World Language and Culture (WLC) department of California State University, Monterey Bay. Here, you can view the courses I've taken as well as the work I've done to achieve my BA. Thank you for taking the time to view my portfolio!
Statement of Purpose:
With a strong interest in language learning and foreign cultures, it only seems natural to have chosen World Language and Cultures as my major at CSU Monterey Bay. My journey into language learning began at the start of my high school career with my first Japanese class. Having been introduced to Japan as a child through its pop cultural manga and anime, I became interested in learning the language itself. Once I started learning, I became unable to stop. Learning and improving in Japanese became a new passion, fueled by a desire to someday visit the land itself and immerse myself in the language and culture.
The most impacting experience I have had throughout my Japanese studies was participating in the Monterey County Japanese Speech Contest. I entered the contest both my Junior and Senior years of high school, and both times were challenging, yet rewarding experiences. As a contest focused not only on speech delivery, but also content and ability to answer questions, it pushed me to progress my writing as well my speaking and conversational skills. My hard work and practice paid off when I received first place, which gave me the wonderful opportunity to travel to Los Angeles to meet and compete with the top Japanese students from all over the nation. This was a great honor, as well as a huge stepping stone for me. Furthermore, I was impacted greatly when I witnessed how advanced all the competitors were. Unfortunately, I was unable to proceed to the next and final round of the contest in Japan. However, although I didn’t receive any award at the contest, I didn’t leave empty-handed. I returned home with an even greater passion to pursue Japanese studies, so that I too could become as fluent as my opponents were and someday make it to Japan. My loss did not hinder my enthusiasm to learn Japanese, it only fueled it further. Thus, I am very thankful to have had an experience like this.
To this day, Japanese remains my first love of language learning. However, my interest in foreign languages extends far beyond Japanese as well. After graduating with the Department Key of Foreign Language at my high school, I became unable to continue my Japanese studies as I proceeded to complete my General Education at community college. During this break, however, I took the opportunity to learn Korean, another language I had been interested in. Since there were no Korean classes in the area, I learned independently through online resources, studying the writing system, pronunciation, vocabulary and so on. In addition to this, I also attempted to learn my family’s language, Kapampangan, a dialect from the Philippines. Recently I have also begun studying Spanish, with simple vocabulary and common phrases. Aside from these, there are many other languages I would love to study and learn. To me, fluency in multiple languages is an incredible ability which I hope to attain someday. I would love to communicate and overcome language barriers with an array of people from different cultures and backgrounds. I believe the World Language and Cultures major will help me in doing so.
Since I have started here at CSU Monterey Bay, I have fortunately been able to continue my studies in Japanese. It was definitely a challenge at first trying to adjust back to the language after such a long break, but through the courses I have taken during my time here, I have been able to readjust to the language and improve even further. Also, I was able to fulfill my goal of going to Japan through CSUMB's study abroad program. I spent one year as an exchange student at J.F. Oberlin University in Machida, Tokyo, where I was able to completely immerse myself in the culture and lifestyle. This, along with my other experiences at CSUMB have helped me to grow and think on a global level, and thus will greatly assist me in my future path. Furthermore, I hope my experiences as a WLC Major will allow me to advance into an overseas career, and open doors to international opportunities.
Resume: PDF file
With a strong interest in language learning and foreign cultures, it only seems natural to have chosen World Language and Cultures as my major at CSU Monterey Bay. My journey into language learning began at the start of my high school career with my first Japanese class. Having been introduced to Japan as a child through its pop cultural manga and anime, I became interested in learning the language itself. Once I started learning, I became unable to stop. Learning and improving in Japanese became a new passion, fueled by a desire to someday visit the land itself and immerse myself in the language and culture.
The most impacting experience I have had throughout my Japanese studies was participating in the Monterey County Japanese Speech Contest. I entered the contest both my Junior and Senior years of high school, and both times were challenging, yet rewarding experiences. As a contest focused not only on speech delivery, but also content and ability to answer questions, it pushed me to progress my writing as well my speaking and conversational skills. My hard work and practice paid off when I received first place, which gave me the wonderful opportunity to travel to Los Angeles to meet and compete with the top Japanese students from all over the nation. This was a great honor, as well as a huge stepping stone for me. Furthermore, I was impacted greatly when I witnessed how advanced all the competitors were. Unfortunately, I was unable to proceed to the next and final round of the contest in Japan. However, although I didn’t receive any award at the contest, I didn’t leave empty-handed. I returned home with an even greater passion to pursue Japanese studies, so that I too could become as fluent as my opponents were and someday make it to Japan. My loss did not hinder my enthusiasm to learn Japanese, it only fueled it further. Thus, I am very thankful to have had an experience like this.
To this day, Japanese remains my first love of language learning. However, my interest in foreign languages extends far beyond Japanese as well. After graduating with the Department Key of Foreign Language at my high school, I became unable to continue my Japanese studies as I proceeded to complete my General Education at community college. During this break, however, I took the opportunity to learn Korean, another language I had been interested in. Since there were no Korean classes in the area, I learned independently through online resources, studying the writing system, pronunciation, vocabulary and so on. In addition to this, I also attempted to learn my family’s language, Kapampangan, a dialect from the Philippines. Recently I have also begun studying Spanish, with simple vocabulary and common phrases. Aside from these, there are many other languages I would love to study and learn. To me, fluency in multiple languages is an incredible ability which I hope to attain someday. I would love to communicate and overcome language barriers with an array of people from different cultures and backgrounds. I believe the World Language and Cultures major will help me in doing so.
Since I have started here at CSU Monterey Bay, I have fortunately been able to continue my studies in Japanese. It was definitely a challenge at first trying to adjust back to the language after such a long break, but through the courses I have taken during my time here, I have been able to readjust to the language and improve even further. Also, I was able to fulfill my goal of going to Japan through CSUMB's study abroad program. I spent one year as an exchange student at J.F. Oberlin University in Machida, Tokyo, where I was able to completely immerse myself in the culture and lifestyle. This, along with my other experiences at CSUMB have helped me to grow and think on a global level, and thus will greatly assist me in my future path. Furthermore, I hope my experiences as a WLC Major will allow me to advance into an overseas career, and open doors to international opportunities.
Resume: PDF file