2022 Luncheon – in Honor of US Consul General Richard Mei

JETAAWJ 2022 luncheon group picture
The guests at our 2022 Luncheon.

Also Happy 35th, JET Program!

Special thanks to our dai sempai Mombusho English Fellow alumni US Consul General Richard Mei and Austin Moore, who was actually one of the first CLAIR staff in charge of recruiting JETs in 1986!

Thank you also to Mr. Kobayashi, Simon & Kevin of CLAIR who came from Tokyo, and AJET’s chair and vice chair Spencer and Joe, who also came a long way to be with us in Kobe.

After a hiatus, this event marked the beginning of JETAA WJ starting in-person events. We look forward to planning more in-person (and online) events for the rest of the year and beyond.

JETAAWJ Webinar Series #3 – Eden Law “Podcasting and the JET alumni experience”

JETAA International’s webmaster and podcaster Eden Law joins us to talk about all things podcasting, his JET and post-JET experiences and about his passion for stories.


You can find Eden Law’s podcast on JETAA International’s website here: https://www.jetaainternational.org/af…

The podcast can also be found on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/lifeafterjet

You can reach Eden via JETAA International’s website: https://www.jetaainternational.org/te…


** During the talk, Eden mentioned his experiences with JETAA International (JETAAI) and the letters project with his students after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake disaster.
Two things that Eden neglected to mention:
– Board of Advisors: The JETAAI committee is supported by a dedicated board of advisors.
– Eden also wishes to acknowledge the help of CLAIR Sydney and Manly City Council in the project (at Sydney’s 2011 Japan Festival) mentioned during this interview. Another useful resource for podcasting is the Free Music Archive (https://freemusicarchive.org/)


** For those interested, the JETWit podcast beat can be found here: http://jetwit.com/wordpress/category/…

Upcoming Events!

We’ve got an exciting fall and winter planned for you guy for the rest of the year!

JETAAWJ Monthly Meeting

JETAAWJ officers are having their monthly meeting on Sunday, Sept. 23 from 5:00 PM at Drunk Bears in Osaka (Umeda, Chayamachi).

We’ll be discussing event ideas for the rest of the 2018 through March 2019, so if you’re looking to get more involved with the JET alumni community this is your chance to join! Current JETs also welcome to join our event planning committee! The chapter will provide some eats & soft drinks for meeting attendees.

RSVP via the Facebook event page

JETAA WJ & JALT Resume writing and life after JET workshop

On September 29th JETAA WJ will co-host with the Kobe JALT chapter an event for those who are interested in learning about how to polish their resumes (specifically in the language education field) to prepare for job hunting. JALT is the Japan Association for Language Teaching (https://sites.google.com/site/kobejalt/home). In addition, we will have three current JET alumni (of both ALT and CIR background) to talk about their life post JET. The event will be followed by a networking dinner at The Sky Buffet, a short walk from the venue (Map: https://goo.gl/maps/AnsdPoo4S472).
Dinner is 1990 yen (+tax) per adult and all-you-can-drink alcohol is 990 (+tax) for women and 1290 (+tax) for men. Please indicate in the comments if you’ll be attending the dinner afterward. We look forward to seeing everyone there!

Event fee:
Free for current JETs and JALT members,
1000 yen for non-JALT members

Location:
Kobe International House 神戸国際会館
(Map: https://goo.gl/maps/H8Y2A8FHsNG2)
ROOM 804

Event details:
15:00 – 16:00 Resume writing workshop
Speakers:
Michael Parrish and Richard Miller

Michael Parrish and Richard Miller are long term residents of Japan. Richard is an associate professor at Kobe Gakuin University, and Michael is an assistant professor at Kwansei Gakuin University. They have been the JALT Job Information Center (JIC) coordinators for a number of years writing, giving presentations and running the booth at the annual JALT conference. They have given presentations, talks and workshops on professional development throughout Japan, Dubai and Kenya. Their regular columns appear in the JALT CUE publications as well as other publications and have an upcoming book chapter “Transforming your Academic Curriculum Vitae (CV) into a Career Strategy Tool” in Advancing the ELT Practices which will be published by Zayed University

16:00 – 17:00 JET Alumni panel (Q&A included)
Speakers:
Cory Ballantyne
Alberto Koji Servín

Cory B ‘Awesome’ hails from the state of Colorado. She came here in the year 2012 and did a five year stint on the JET program in Kyoto City but was a FU JET. Working on the JET program made her realize teaching was the perfect job for her and opened up a new career path for her. Now she works for a private school in Shiga

Alberto Koji Servín is a Japanese-Mexican-American born and raised in San José, California. After graduating from Middlebury College, Alberto came to Japan on the JET Program as a Coordinator for International Relations (CIR) for the City of Wakayama. After 2 years on the JET Program, he joined Mori Kosan Co., Ltd., a company in Osaka that supports foreign residents find employment in Japan.

17:00 ~ Dinner at The Sky Buffet
Please indicate in the comments if you’ll be attending the dinner afterward. We look forward to seeing everyone there!

October networking

We are having a casual networking event on Friday, October 12, from 19:30 to 21:00 at Drunk Bears in NU Chayamchi (in Umeda, Osaka).

This is a chance for JETs to meet with alumni and learn about what it’s like to work in Japan post-JET. Special guests include former JETs working in: the U.S. Consulate General Osaka-Kobe, the Kansai Tourism Bureau, the Osaka Foundation of International Exchange (OFIX), and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission – Asia Office.

If you have any questions, please send your inquiries at jetaawjchair@gmail.com, or post them on the Facebook event page.

Film Screening

JETAA WJ, with support from the US Consulate General Osaka-Japan, is holding a special free screening of “Live Your Dream: the Taylor Anderson Story” at the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art in Kobe on Wednesday, October 17th at 1:30 p.m. with director Regge Life.

The documentary is subtitled in English and Japanese. The running time is 1 hour and 25 minutes. Mr. Life will do a question and answer session for an hour after the screening and intermission. Suggested donation of ¥1,000 will go to the Taylor Anderson Memorial Fund and the towards western Japan flood relief.

Event recap: Medical & Healthcare Field Networking Event

JETAA Western Japan invited Dr. Sarah Barber, Director of UNWHO’s Kobe Centre to speak to JETs and friends interested in healthcare policy and the medical profession. We were also joined by Dr. Shizuki Takemura, an English-speaking pathologist and general medicine practitioner, as well as Dr. Naotoshi Nakamura, a computational biologist at Kyoto University. In the casual Q&A session, our participants were able to ask questions ranging from the future trends and issues that will be concerned within the medical fields to career related questions such as the processes it takes to practice in Japan as a foreign licensed doctors and to work for the WHO. Thanks to our participants, we had a lovely afternoon with our knowledgeable guests.

Upcoming Events!

Networking Event: Medicine & Related Fields

Meet the head of the UN WHO Kobe Center, medical professionals, research specialists and other guests to ask your questions about careers in health sciences and related professions.
It’s also the Harbour Tavern’s Sunday roast day (beef, lamb, or both) in addition to the regular menu! Note that roasts will be available after 3PM.

RSVP to jetaawj@gmail.com by August 18 to save your spot!

Date: August 26th (Sunday)
Time: 13:30 ~
Venue: The Harbor Tavern Kobe

Life after JET + Resumé Writing

Learn about what life is like from three JET alumni in the Kansai area with special guest from JALT (Japan Association of Language Teaching) to help polish your resumé before any job hunting process begins! If you are an alum who would like to share your experiences and be involved in the process of  planning the event, please contact jetaawj@gmail.com.

Date: September 29th (Saturday)
Time: 3-5pm
Venue: TBA