“I heard about NCVirtual through my friends, and I was stoked when I found out about the opportunities it presented. I enrolled in order to get a few of my required classes out of the way, while also pursuing my own interests. By getting a few of my required classes out of the way, I was able to get ahead of my peers and take more advanced classes earlier. I was also able to learn more about Japanese, which was something I wasn’t able to do at my local public school.” – Israel M.
“The first time I spoke to Israel on the phone as a new Japanese 3 student, he asked if we could speak in Japanese! I was expecting just some greetings and a couple of basic sentences. He went far beyond my expectations and was prepared to do much of our conversation in Japanese! He has been self-studying the language, and he seeks out opportunities to use the target language to convey as many of his thoughts as he can. On all assignments, he went above and beyond the requirements in the rubrics with his target language usage. He always offered positive comments to his classmates too. Most recently, Israel has become an officer in the Japan Club and regularly contributes to the decisions on the topics we will discuss and also contributes a lot to the discussion during the club meetings. Some of the topics that he and the other members have wanted to discuss have caused me to investigate more about parts of Japanese society and culture that I was not as familiar with. This extended my knowledge and as a result, I have been able to develop 3 additional culture cafe topics and have presented on 2 out of 3 of them so far. – Revae Bostwick, NCVirtual Japanese Instructor
Israel’s NCVirtual Experience
I used NCVirtual to my advantage by taking courses in civics, math, as well as every Japanese course offered so far.
I didn’t expect there to be so many extracurriculars available through NCVirtual. I always have a ton of fun participating in the Japan Club. Clubs and other meetings really help you to feel more like a member of a community, instead of just a student.
My advice to current and prospective students is to not let your work pile up!! Online coursework on top of public school can be intimidating, but you’ll be glad you enrolled once you’ve made it through.
It’s really important to learn about all the educational opportunities available, in order to make your education work for you. I’m really happy that I had the chance to learn about my interests through NCVirtual (and I’m stoked that I don’t have to worry about taking civics now!)
Life Outside of School
In my free time, I’m usually listening to music or drawing. I’m super proud to be an officer of NCVirtual’s Japan Club, and I also attend the Chess Club at my public school. I also dedicate a lot of my time to video games. My favorites are fighting games and rhythm games.
My favorite book is Ghost in the Wires, by Kevin Mitnick. It’s a real memoir written by one of the world’s most wanted computer hackers. If you’re interested in telephony and the early days of personal computing, I definitely recommend it.
Fun Facts
I had a yoyo phase in elementary school, and I spent an unholy amount of time trying to learn all the cool tricks. I hit myself in the face on more than one occasion. I may have been (and still am) a total nerd, but I think it’s worth it as long as you’re having fun.
One of my favorite snacks is definitely bubble tea. I’d go to get some every day if I could, but the place in town keeps running out of boba! Can you imagine bubble tea without the bubbles? It’s just… tea!
My phone is high on the list of things I couldn’t live without, but I’d be lost without my planner. I don’t even use it to plan most of the time, so it’s more like a compact little journal/sketchbook. I think it’s important to have a place to write your thoughts down freely.
A lot of the shows and video games I enjoy come from Japan, so in order to enjoy them as they were originally created, I decided to try learning Japanese! Learning a language is something I believe everybody should try once in their life. It’s very fulfilling, and the experience has taken me beyond my culture without even leaving my house.
Goals & Future Plans
This semester, I signed up for the AP Japanese exam… without taking the course. Passing this exam is something I truly want, so I’m studying every day in order to prepare myself. I thank my NCVirtual Japanese teachers for helping me get this far in my studies.
While my short-term goals are pretty clear to me, everything after high school is hazy. I’ll either go into computer science or become an English teacher overseas in Japan. No matter what I choose, though, I’m sure that keeping my grades up in school while self-studying Japanese will be sure to help me accomplish my goals.
