Updates (and a surprise)

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Well, it’s been a while since my last blog post. The fall semester proved to be quite challenging and time consuming. While working as the Program Assistant for the Asian Studies Department at Kean University, I got a lot of experience working in a college setting, reaching out to students on campus, and utilizing my event planning experience to organize some amazing cultural events throughout the semester. Yet, all of the seems to be a thing of the past. My college career, thus far, has come to an end. I successfully completed my B.A. in Asian Studies with a 3.76 GPA, earning Magna Cum Laude status. A great way to end it.

Now, with school done and out of the way, I can focus on the future; and the future is very bright, indeed. I am very proud to announce that I have passed the first phase of the application process for the JET (Japan Exchange Teaching) Programme. I got the email this morning and will be scheduled for the interview phase. If I pass that, I will be on my way back to Japan in the very near future.

I will post more updates as they come. It’s great to be back!

Hector Santiago

Hector was an FEA Scholar in the fall of 2012. He studied abroad in Japan, going back to Japan to take part on the JET program after graduating from Brookdale Community College, and later going on to earn his MA in International Education at SIT. He currently works as a study abroad advisor at Brookdale Community College in New Jersey and runs his own business. *** (From 2012) Hello. ใ“ใ‚“ใซใกใฏใ€‚My name is Hector Santiago. ๅƒ•ใฎใ€€ๅๅ‰ใฏใ€ใƒ˜ใ‚ฏใ‚ฟใƒผใ€€ใ‚ตใƒณใƒ†ใ‚ฃใ‚ขใƒผใ‚ดใงใ™ใ€‚I am a 23 years old and am a student at Brookdale Community College and Kean University. I come from a low-income family and have yet to experience life outside of New Jersey. I have travelled to Florida before because my best friend lives there, but otherwise have not been out of New Jersey much. It would be a great experience to go to Japan and study a culture that interests me so much. No one in my family has ever travelled outside of the country either so it would be a chance to help move my family forward. I will be studying in Tokyo, Japan at KCP International Japanese Language School from October until December. During my time in Japan, I will be studying Japanese language and culture as outline in the course description of KCPโ€™s program. I have heard that KCP has a community service club that I would like to be involved with. In addition, I will be video recording my experience and making a video to show other students upon my return from Japan. Iโ€™m looking forward to every aspect of this trip. It is all new to me and I am very anxious to go. When I wrote my first letter to FEA for this scholarship, I was still having trouble deciding my major and how this study abroad would be relevant to it. However, over the last few weeks, Iโ€™ve decided, with great excitement, that I will pursue my B.A. degree in Asian Studies. What better way to study Asian history and culture than to be there? With the experience I get from this program, I would like to, if at all possible, start a Japanese program at Kean University when I graduate because there is none as of yet. This is why I am studying abroad through Brookdale Community College. My other interests include music, racquetball, and Goju Karate.