APSU staffer, alumna to go to Japan to teach English

An Austin Peay State University staff member and alumna who pursued study-abroad courses as a student is leaving APSU to teach English as a second language in the Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program.

Brie Vogt (’09), who has worked in the Office of International Education since March 2008, will move to Bunga Takada, a city of less than 20,000 people next to the sea in Japan’s Oita Prefecture. She will relocate there at the end of the summer.

“I’ve been researching a lot of wonderful things about Japan and look forward to my new adventure,” Vogt said.

Vogt came to APSU in 2005 and participated in the French Exchange Program in 2006-07. She also went to Australia in the winter of 2008-09.

“Still even with all this travel, I wanted to know more. I wanted to live in an Asian country to give me exposure beyond the Western Hemisphere,” she said.

After returning from Australia, the Japanese Consulate in Nashville visited APSU as part of the Global Govs Passport Series and shared information about the JET Program.

“Having made a lot of friends from Japan while I was in France and being very familiar with some of their customs, I was interested,” Vogt said.

The JET Program allows participants to teach between one and five years. Vogt said she plans to continue teaching or attend graduate school overseas after completing the JET Program.