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JAPANESE LANGUAGE
SCHOLARSHIP "AURORA" FOUNDATION Announces the 7th Annual
Scholarship Winners
February 7, 2006
For Immediate Release
Press contact: Aurora Foundation
Tel: (323) 882-6545
Fax: (323) 969-9425
Los Angeles - The Aurora Japanese
Language Scholarship Foundation is pleased to announce their
seventh scholarship winners, Ms. Rebecca Armstrong and Mr. Dan
Carolin. The primary goal of the Aurora Foundation is to
assist United States citizens, who are either Japanese language
teachers or graduate students of Japanese language education,
to experience living in Japan and have the opportunity to participate
in various educational programs during their stay to further
their understanding of the Japanese language and culture. Two
winners receive a $3,000 scholarship and roundtrip air tickets
from the USA to Japan (coach class).
To welcome the two recipients of the JLSF scholarships, the Aurora
Foundation is holding the Aurora Foundation Benefit Dinner &
Auction in Los Angeles in Autumn 2006 (date TBD). There
will also be a benefit auction (live & silent) which is a
fundraising event for the Aurora Foundation (EIN: 31-1639219).
Dan Carolin first visited
Japan in 1989 as an AET on the JET program in Ina-shi, Nagano-ken.
He quickly grew fascinated with Japan and has returned
to live in there twice since that time, spending two years in
Chiba-ken and six years in Yokohama. In between stints
in Japan he continued his study of Japanese and taught Japanese
language and culture to middle and high school students in New
York and Indiana. While living in Chiba and Yokohama he
took up the study of Aikido, eventually attaining the rank of
San-dan. In 2005, he completed the University of Sheffield's
Masters of Arts in Advanced Japanese Studies, a distance learning
course. |
Dan
currently teaches at Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa,
where he also teaches Aikido lessons after school and sponsors
the Japanese club. In 2005, he invited two exchange students
from Japan to assist with instruction and to give Kennedy students
an opportunity to practice speaking Japanese with a native speaker,
and to learn about Japanese culture from the perspective of a
Japanese teen. He is also currently in the process of forming
a statewide association for Japanese teachers in Iowa. Since
he is firmly convinced that foreign language learners should
be afforded every opportunity to use their skills in conversations
outside of the classroom, he plans to set up a sister school
relationship with a high school in Japan while in Japan summer
in 2006 for his Aurora Foundation project. As part of his
plan he also intends to obtain authentic Japanese materials (manga,
anime, etc.) of interest to American high school students, as
well as produce several DVD's that will allow American students
to get a glimpse of the daily lives of Japanese high school students,
featuring footage of important historical landmarks, tourist
destinations around Japan, and expose the students to a variety
of cultural curiosities.
Throughout his time in Japan summer in 2006 he plans to spend
time studying Aikido at the Yoshinkan Aikido Hombu Dojo in Shinjuku
in an effort to hone his skills before offering classes to students
and residents in the Cedar Rapids school community. |
NOTE: Unfortunately,
for personal reasons Rebecca Armstrong
(Becky) had to decline the scholarship award. The Aurora Foundation
wishes her good luck for the future with her work and studies.
7/10/2006
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Dr. Akiko Agishi, Founder & President of the Aurora Foundation,
is a former Fulbright scholar and graduate of UCLA and is happy
to have the opportunity to share her dream with young educators.
"The youth of today remain our hope for tomorrow and I believe
we must all do our part to help prepare them."
For more information, including
sponsorship, please contact the Aurora Foundation at (323) 882-6545
or by e-mail at AuroraFoundation@usa.net. Please check the JLSF
website at www.jlsf-aurora.org.
6th annual scholarship winners (2005)
5th
annual scholarship winners (2004)
4th
annual scholarship winners (2003)
3rd
annual scholarship winners (2002)
2nd
annual scholarship winners (2001)
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