Culture/Career Hybrid Program (CCHP) Scholarships for Students
For this year’s JBSD Foundation grant, JCMU awarded seven scholarships of $500 each to students participating our Culture/Career Hybrid Programs (CCHPs). The CCHP curriculum structure has been awarded the Innovation Award from the University Design Consortium hosted by Arizona State University, and has been recognized for its unique melding of Japanese cultural instruction and professional focus by the Institute for International Education in Washington, D.C.

The scholarship support provided by the JBSD Foundation for the CCHP students allowed them to participate in these unique study abroad programs and learn more about these professional fields in the Japanese context. In the Health & Culture of Japan program, students experienced Japan’s health, healthcare, and public health first-hand while learning about its culture and society. This program, taught by Michigan State University Professor of Public Health, Pat Lambert, is designed to explore the vast effect of culture on Japan’s health, healthcare, and public health while experiencing key aspects of Eastern and Western medicine.

In the newest CCHP, Teaching English in Japan, students explored teaching approaches, methods, needs and characteristics of English as a second language (ESL/TESOL) students in Japan. In the TESOL methods course, students focused on national and international approaches to ESL teaching while observing various ESL classrooms and settings. The students gained a deeper understanding of the characteristics and needs of ESL education in Japan,
providing practical skills and knowledge for a career in TESOL.

In the following pages, you will find the reflections of each of this summer’s seven scholarship recipients, thanking the JBSD Foundation and describing their experiences in their own words.

In each of the CCHPs, the professionally-focused keystone course was complemented by a specialty course on Japan culture and society, which presented students with the opportunity to further explore the foundations of Japanese culture and society and how they have shaped the lives of the Japanese people. Classroom lectures were enhanced with guest lectures, site visits, and Japanese cultural demonstrations and activities. In this way, the experiences that the U.S. students had in Japan were framed and enhanced by giving them a better understanding of Japanese culture. JCMU would like to thank the JBSD Foundation for your continued support of our students and programs. We hope that you enjoy learning more about our students and their transformative experiences this summer in Japan.

<Photo> Prof. Pat Lambert (seated at front)
and JCMUstudents meet with medical professionals during the HCJ 2015 program.