This year marks my sixth of studying Japanese. It has been an incredible addition to my life, allowing me to have unique, unforeseen experiences, and even jumpstarting my career. I studied Japanese for all four years at UVM, studying abroad at Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo my junior spring. Because of this, not only was I able to have an amazing time in Japan, but I was able to complete my double major in Neuroscience and Japanese. I discovered that I loved living in Japan, which solidified my motivation for finding a job there before attending medical school. I attended a career forum in Boston in the fall of 2023 and secured my future position, working as a preclinical researcher at a drug development company in Kagoshima, Japan. I haven’t started yet but will in a few months. I was told originally not to pursue Japanese and that it may limit my options, but I have experienced quite the contrary; having language skills in addition to other interests is only a plus. Although I have no idea what my experience working will be like, I am extremely excited to see where it takes me!

"I had already studied Chinese for a year when I arrived at UVM in 2002 as an undeclared freshman. Over the next couple of years, I continued to study Chinese and enrolled in classes related to Asian art, history, and philosophy, making Asian studies a natural choice for my major. After spending seven transformative months studying abroad in Kunming in 2004, I knew I wanted to return to China after graduation. In 2006, I moved with my fellow UVM alumnus and now husband Dov Pechenick to Shenzhen, where we spent a year teaching English at a Chinese boarding school and traveling throughout China . . . I realized during my year in Shenzhen that I preferred tutoring my fellow American English teachers in Chinese, so I returned to the U.S. in 2007 to pursue a master’s degree in teaching Chinese as a foreign language at the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) in California. I graduated from MIIS in 2009 and in 2010 I was offered a position at New Hampton School, a small boarding school in central New Hampshire where I am teaching high school Chinese levels 1 through 5."

"When I signed up to take Japanese my first year at UVM, I was unaware of all of the great opportunities and experiences that my Japanese studies would allow me to achieve later on and even after graduating. During my third year at UVM, I was accepted into a two-semester study abroad program at Meiji Gakuin University in Tokyo. This was a formative experience for me not only because it helped me improve my language skills through complete immersion, but it but it also enabled me to grow as an individual. After my year abroad, I returned for my final year at UVM and began to consider various ways in which I could earn a living while using my Japanese language. I applied for many jobs and eventually I was lucky enough to accept a position at the Consulate General of Japan in Atlanta. Today I serve as Political & Cultural Affairs Assistant at Consulate General of Japan. I am incredibly fortunate to be working in an environment that allows me to utilize and expand upon my Japanese language skills acquired through my studies at UVM."

"I began studying Japanese on a whim. Looking back now, that was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. After graduation, I was accepted as a participant in the JET Program (part of the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme). They placed me in rural Akita prefecture, far from any metropolitan centers. I worked there as an elementary school English teacher for fifth and sixth graders. It was a difficult transition period, as none of my co-workers spoke English and I was entrusted with many new responsibilities. However, the challenges presented opportunities to advance my language ability and gain new professional skills. Thanks to the necessity of Japanese in my daily life, I passed the Japanese Language Proficiency Test N1 level in July of 2016. My time teaching was fantastic. At the end of three years I decided to advance my career in a different direction. I now work for a tourism-based area revitalization company in my adopted home of Odate City. My day-to-day tasks include translation work, product development, and foreign outreach."