{"id":27391,"date":"2019-06-11T09:42:17","date_gmt":"2019-06-11T14:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/?p=27391"},"modified":"2019-06-11T09:42:17","modified_gmt":"2019-06-11T14:42:17","slug":"three-austin-peay-graduates-picked-for-coveted-japanese-exchange-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/2019\/06\/11\/three-austin-peay-graduates-picked-for-coveted-japanese-exchange-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Austin Peay graduates picked for coveted Japanese exchange program"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AustinClarksville, TN<\/strong> – Recent Austin Peay State University (APSU) history graduate Justin Randall was home alone when the email alert popped on his screen. \u201cI opened it up, and I just got really excited,\u201d he said. \u201cActually, the neighbor called the cops because they thought I was getting murdered.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Austin<\/a>

Austin Peay State University Graduates (L to R) Alexandria Poppendorf, April Kirkman and Justin Randall have been picked for teaching assistantship in the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET).<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

A city police officer knocked on his door minutes later.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, that was me, sorry,\u201d Randall told the officer. \u201cI just learned I got a big interview.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not only did Randall land an interview with the office of the Consulate-General of Japan, he also got the job \u2013 a highly coveted teaching assistantship in the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET). Of more than 5,000 U.S. applications, only about 1,000 are selected for the job.<\/p>\n

Three Austin Peay graduates landed jobs this year. Three also were selected last year.<\/p>\n

\u2018The University To Work With Japan\u2019<\/h3>\n

Alexandria Poppendorf and Randall head to Japan in August, and April Kirkman started in April. All three will be assistant language teachers, helping teach English in Japanese classrooms.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of larger schools treat the JET program applications the same as Fulbright applications,\u201d Dr. David Rands, associate professor and director of Asian Studies at Austin Peay, said.<\/p>\n

Austin Peay has a direct relationship with the Japanese consulate in Nashville. Rands \u2013 who participated in the JET program as an undergraduate in 1993 \u2013 has led the effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re rapidly becoming the university in the area to work with Japan,\u201d Rands said. \u201cWhen Austin Peay JET candidates come across the table, they know they\u2019re going to be good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through the JET program, Randall, Poppendorf and Kirkman won yearly contracts with the ability to renew up to five years. They\u2019ll receive around $31,000 the first year with subsidized housing and health insurance.<\/p>\n

\u2018Not Just A Vacation\u2019<\/h3>\n

Poppendorf earned a bachelor\u2019s in history in 2014 and followed up with a master\u2019s in military history. She\u2019s leaving her post as APSU history instructor to take the JET job.<\/p>\n

[320left]\u201cI love being an instructor here,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I knew I wanted to go abroad if I could.\u201d<\/p>\n

With JET, she gets that opportunity, and in the part of the world at the core of her research interests \u2013 East Asia.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m getting a chance to experience another culture by not only visiting but also integrating into it \u2013 literally living there,\u201d Poppendorf said. \u201cThis is not just a vacation, not just studying abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Poppendorf \u2013 who\u2019s leaning toward pursuing a Ph.D. in international or intercultural communication or international education \u2013 doesn\u2019t know Japanese (Randall does).<\/p>\n

\u201cThey want the native tongue experience to help children learn a more fluent version of English,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s part of the program, to open up Japan a little bit more to Western culture and bring it into the local and rural communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018See The Culture, The Language\u2019<\/h3>\n

Kirkman \u2013 who graduated from Austin Peay in 2015 with a bachelor\u2019s in nursing \u2013 will work at Koriyama Xaverio Gakuen Catholic school in K\u014driyama, Japan, about three hours north of Tokyo. Poppendorf and Randall will learn their assignments before they arrive.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are 22 teachers on the staff, and six teach English,\u201d Kirkman said. \u201cI\u2019ll be team-teaching with them, going around in class, reinforcing the teaching.\u201d<\/p>\n

She has long been interested in Japanese culture, and \u201cas a nurse, education is a huge part of my career.\u201d Her desire to teach and learn Japanese culture led to JET.<\/p>\n

\u201cI looked up teaching English, and JET was something that always popped up, so I just delved into it,\u201d Kirkman said. \u201cIt was a seven-month application and interview process, but I got it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get to see the culture, to see nature, the religion, the language, I\u2019m super-interested in learning all of that,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\u2018There’s No Holding Me Back\u2019<\/h3>\n

Although all three want to stay beyond their first year, Randall wants to stay as long as he can. He might even pursue his Ph.D. in Japan.<\/p>\n

[320right]\u201cI mean I\u2019m in my 20s, I want to go travel and live in another country, why not?\u201d the history graduate said. \u201cOne of the things I\u2019ve always wanted to do is go to college, get a degree, be able to operate and work within a major.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, JET is that awesome middle ground where I can experience things in academia and work and be a part of education,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told myself, \u2018If I get this job, I\u2019m going. There\u2019s no holding me back.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

To Learn More<\/h3>\n