JET participants from the Hendrix
Class of 2019, from left: John Tran, Hueseng Xiong, Jazmin Calixto, Adrienne McGooden,
and Alex Berner.
CONWAY, Ark. (May 23, 2019) – Five 2019 Hendrix College
graduates—Alex Berner of Keller, Texas; Jazmin Calixto of Dallas, Texas; Adrienne
McGooden of Siloam Springs, Ark.; John Tran of Little Rock, Ark.; and Hueseng
Xiong of Subiaco, Ark.—have signed on for a cross-cultural adventure that
begins this summer. After convening in Nashville to begin their training,
they’ll fly to Tokyo to complete the process of becoming Assistant Language
Teachers (ALTs) in the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program. JET is highly
selective, with 4,000 to 5,000 applicants competing for approximately 1,000
positions in communities throughout Japan.
The five graduates will report to their assigned locations in
Japan for a minimum of one year, with the option to extend their contracts for
up to five years.
As they live and work in Japanese communities, JET Program
participants represent the United States as cultural ambassadors and help to
promote intercultural exchange and understanding. While their primary role will
be to teach, ALTs have ample opportunities to seek out cross-cultural learning—and
they demonstrated their desire to do so while at Hendrix. Some lived in the
Japanese Culture House on campus,
traveled to Japan through College-sponsored programs, or participated in a Hendrix-Murphy
Foundation Japanese immersion weekend. Most made an effort to learn Japanese
through the Japanese Language and Culture Club or in a class with Gwen
Stockwell, director of ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) and
International Student Services for Hendrix.
“It’s been exciting to see such a tremendous increase in
interest in Japan on our campus over the past few years,” said Stockwell, who
herself served as an ALT with JET from 1998 to 2001. “I think this year’s
success is largely the result of these students’ active participation in a
broad range of Japanese cultural activities on campus and in the community. It
has been great to see Japanese language and culture contribute to diversity here,
and as a JET alumna myself, I’m delighted to see our graduates benefit from
cultural exchange programs like this one.”
Berner, a psychology major who graduated with distinction, pointed
to learning from Aya Murata, a coordinator for the Japan Outreach Initiative who lived at
Hendrix from 2016 to 2018, as well as the Tomodachi Kakehashi Inoyue Scholars
trip he took during his junior year, as experiences that intensified his
interest in Japanese culture and language. “I really have begun the task of
improving my Japanese skills, and I love the challenge that the language
presents in learning all of its nuances and forms,” he said. “The JET Program
will allow me to continue improving this skill while also immersing in a
culture that I have come to admire.” Following the training in Tokyo, Berner
will report to Okinawa Prefecture to teach.
“I was grateful for the opportunity to take the Japanese
Language and Culture course at Hendrix and delve into an area of study that I’ve
always had a deep appreciation for,” said Calixto, a psychology major and
studio art minor who has been assigned to teach in Sasayama. “This experience,
coupled with my participation during Hendrix International Week, solidified my
desire to apply for JET.”
“Living in the Japanese Language and Culture House, taking the
Japanese 100 course here, and getting the chance to go to Japan as part of the
Kakehashi trip last year showed me that I was capable of JET, and that it would
be something I enjoyed in general,” said McGooden, a psychology major who
graduated with distinction. She will report to Tokyo to work as an ALT with
JET.
“I became interested in the JET program because I wanted to
learn more about the Japanese culture and language that was such a big part of
my childhood, and contribute to its society,” said Xiong, a biochemistry-molecular
biology major and Chinese minor whose JET placement is in Kumamoto Prefecture, on the island
of Kyushu. “Because I am passionate about increasing the quality of education
and health in underrepresented communities, having the chance to go and teach
English to Japanese children and young adults in rural area will be a
worthwhile experience for me while serving the Japanese community.”
John Tran, a religion and neuroscience double major from Little
Rock, Ark., will report to the Nagasaki Prefecture to work with JET. He has
long been fascinated with exploring different cultures and meeting people of
different backgrounds and perspectives, and his junior year provided his first
opportunity to visit Japan. “The trip was short, but long enough for me to know
I wanted to come back. That’s initially what attracted me to JET,” he said. “Another
motivation to go back is to visit the friends I have spent years with when they
were in the U.S. Their willingness to share their cultural experience at home
and the U.S. beckoned me to do the same and explore a country rich in history
and culture but also not entirely too familiar to me. I am excited to start the
adventure and I hope I can spark this interest in others I will meet.”
About the JET Program
The JET
Program is a competitive
employment opportunity that allows young professionals to live and work in
cities, towns, and villages throughout Japan. Most participants serve as
Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) and work in public and private schools
throughout Japan; some work as Coordinators for International Relations (CIRs)
as interpreters/translators. Since the JET Program was founded in 1987, more
than 61,000 global participants (including nearly 32,000 Americans) have worked
in schools, boards of education, and government offices throughout Japan.
About Hendrix College
A private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas, Hendrix
College consistently earns recognition as one of the country’s leading liberal
arts institutions, and is featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40
Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges. Its academic
quality and rigor, innovation, and value have established Hendrix as a fixture
in numerous college guides, lists, and rankings. Founded in 1876, Hendrix has
been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. To learn more,
visit www.hendrix.edu.