The last Alumni Link featured an article from a YFU alumna about the things she learned while on exchange. This month, we are pleased to share with you stories of alumni who were able to take their exchange experience and turn it into a successful career. We salute these alumni for their accomplishments and hope to hear from other YFU alumni whose lives and careers have been similarly shaped by their own international experiences.

Last month, we as a nation celebrated the 4th of July, the day on which our country declared its independence from the British. While we may consider ourselves an independent country inasmuch as we are self-governed, as former exchange students we all know from first-hand experience that the world is becoming increasingly interdependent. No one country can survive on its own. With this in mind, we remember the mission of YFU:

Youth For Understanding (YFU) International Exchange prepares young people for their responsibilities and opportunities in a changing, interdependent world.

We hope you are all having a wonderful summer!

Japan Alumna Hired by Japanese Consulate

After my exchange, I graduated from high school and began college as a Japanese major. After one semester, I transferred to Teikyo Loretto Heights University in Denver, a university owned by the Japanese Teikyo University Group. I went back to Japan two more times through Teikyo and graduated in 1996. After that, I began graduate school at CU-Boulder, working toward a Masters Degree in Japanese Language and Civilization. I spent the 1998-99 school year in Japan attending the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies in Yokohama, which is a one-year intensive Japanese program administered through Stanford University. During my time there, I found out that a Japanese Consulate had been opened in Denver, and I was offered a position as the Assistant to the Consul General before I even returned to the U.S.

I've been working at the Consulate for 10 months now, and I use Japanese on a daily basis. My job entails scheduling for the Consul General, contacting various local community leaders, and assisting the Consul General in his work.

Danielle Rocheleau
Japan 1992

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Thanks to the YFU Metro Washington Alumni Reunion held in March of 1998, I had a chance to make wonderful connections, which opened the door for me and led directly to a career within the World Bank!

At the time of the meeting, I was seeking a more rewarding job with an international element. A fellow YFU alumnus joined in a conversation and heard of my interest in international organizations. He offered to contact a friend of his who worked in the World Bank.

A week later I sent my resume to his connection within the World Bank, who happened to work in the same field as I do - software training. One month later I had my first of three interviews at the Bank and by the end of June 1998, I was hired and ready to go!

All in all, the YFU Metro Washington Alumni Reunion was an enjoyable day meeting people who share a common passion for the value of an exchange experience, providing the chance to make new friends and professional business contacts, learn of other common interests, and revive our interest in YFU.

Lisa M. Brown
Spain 1990-91

To read more about Lisa's involvement with YFU, visit the Alumni Corner.