Jonah Nguyen-Conyers with Eshita-sensei after sharing the good news!

Jonah Nguyen-Conyers, a senior at DC International, has taken advantage of just about every Japan opportunity that Globalize DC has been able to offer to DC students. He first joined our Japan in DC summer program in 2017. He was a participant in our Blue Star of Life program at the Kennedy Center the following fall, and was included in our February 2018 KAKEHASHI trip to Tokyo and Gifu. He then took the very serious step of applying to our Japanese Plus afterschool program in fall 2018 as a Level 1 Japanese language student. He is currently in our Level 2 class. Jonah is a unique, joyful, and intellectually curious personality, and has been a great member of our Japan-focused community.

So it was with great excitement that we learned the wonderful news that Jonah has been accepted into Temple University, Japan Campus, to start in September 2019. We believe that pursuing his language and culture studies at a Japanese university will open doors to future career and life opportunities that have been percolating in Jonah’s imagination over the last few years with us. We are so excited for Jonah’s accomplishment. This will be the first student from Japanese Plus to make the big choice to pursue his undergraduate education in Japan. A former Japan in DC student, also from DCI, is now in her first year at TUJ.

We asked Jonah to reflect on his Japan journey, and to consider the impact that Globalize DC’s Japan programs have had on his life and future goals. Enjoy!

Ted Adams, Eshita-sensei, Jonah, and Sally at the Blue Star of Life program

Jonah’s Reflection

I think people should invest in Japanese Plus because this is just an awesome opportunity for students like myself to find motivation and a passion for their own success. Japanese Plus was able to guide me in ways that no other programs or organizations have, making sure their students experience enriching and impactful opportunities. All the things we did in the class allowed me to be more focused and passionate about my love and interest for Japan, with echoing effects that transcended the classroom and into my daily life. I really am happy I was given the opportunity to be a part of this program.

I was motivated to sign up for Japan in DC in 2017, because I had some kind of interest in anime, and the summer program was quite close to my house, and I got paid (through the DC Summer Youth Employment Program) to go. After the experience in Japan in DC, I really felt invested in the Japanese culture, and wished to learn more. So the Japanese Plus language class really was the best opportunity for me and my interests. I am beyond happy with my choice to join the afterschool Japanese language program.

The most significant aspects of Japanese Plus for me were the extensive access to very enriching opportunities that revolved around Japanese language and culture, along with great influence on the opportunities available after high school that related to college, giving me a lot of foresight of what opportunities for higher education in Japan could be for me and the other students in the class. This class allowed me to look into my future from a Japanese language student perspective and see a future I never knew I desired.

Japan in DC, Japanese Plus, and the KAKEHASHI trip to Japan were the foundations I needed to understand the way I wished my life would go in. These opportunities that I never thought I would have really just allowed me to see a future that I can work hard and be passionate about. I really just loved the whole journey that I’ve taken to get to where I am now. Without these opportunities I honestly think I would be less passionate and dedicated to my future.

I decided to apply to Temple University, Japan Campus (TUJ), as the process of getting the information from my friend and website and other means were quite efficient and fit my life during the time of applying. I was hoping to apply to other Japanese universities (and still might), but this was one of the schools I was able to apply to through the Common Application, for which I was given a lot of guidance through my school, as it is a nationwide application service. So applying to TUJ at the time was a great choice when considering my own circumstances and the other things in my life.

In the future I wish to go to college, and learn the Japanese language to the extent and fluency of a native speaker, and be able to share and communicate with Japanese people, hoping to understand their lives and culture, something I will be learning forever. I hope to go to college, get a Japanese language degree, be an English teacher or art teacher, and just have the experience of being a part of this vastly different country. After teaching I don’t know what I might do, but I would love to reach back to my Chinese and Vietnamese passions and get more invested in those parts of my identity, maybe through the Peace Corps. As long as I am learning at all points in my life, I will be happy, and that’s what this future can provide for me.