Looking Back at 2015 (Part 2)
Posted on Thursday, January 7th, 2016 at 6:20 pm.
Today, we continue to highlight some of our favorite J-1 Visa Exchange Visitor Program memories from 2015. We’re looking back and celebrating all that we’ve accomplished. See how community groups and host organizations embraced and expanded the reach of the program, sponsors created the best possible experience for participants, and participants enacted positive change in their local communities.
Here are more highlights from 2015 – an amazing year:
In New York City, J-1 participants came out to enjoy the day while cleaning up Riverside Park.
J-1 Participants Celebrated J-Day: International exchange participants came together with their American hosts to share cultural diversity and American customs, to give back to their communities, and to have some fun.
Maiwena Gadegbeku, a J-1 Teacher from France in action at Haynes Academy of Advanced Studies in New Orleans, Louisiana
J-1 Teacher Connected with Her Students in La Nouvelle-Orléans: Maiwena Gadegbeku, a J-1 Teacher from France, gave French and American youth the unique opportunity to further explore each other’s culture online and in-person.
Compliance staff members Caroline Pena and Stephen Hill with Camp Directors David Billingham and Thomas Naro and a camper at Southhampton Fresh Air Home in New York
J-1 Participants Championed Disability Rights: J-1 Camp Counselors and Summer Work Travel participants working at Southampton Fresh Air Home in New York, a camp for physically challenged children, brought – and gained – cultural diversity and made meaningful connections with the staff and campers.
J-1 Students with Host Employer Robin Chance at Harris Teeter
Block Island Community Supported J-1 Participants: A Block Island volunteer community group made it their mission to help over 200+ Summer Work Travel (SWT) participants from 19 countries feel welcome in their new hometown, integrate them into community life, and gain access to vital services.
Camp Homeward Bound J-1 Camp Counselors with Director Beverly McEntarfer
J-1s Helped Homeless Children: J-1 International students working at Camp Homeward Bound, the nation’s first summer sleep-away camp designed specifically for homeless kids in the New York shelter system, helped disadvantaged kids breakdown barriers and see the world from new perspectives.
We thank our participants, sponsors, host organizations, and community support groups for an amazing year. Keep up the good work and let’s continue showing the world the power of the international exchange community. We look forward to many new adventures in 2016!
Categories: Program Spotlight
| About Rebecca Pasini Deputy Assistant Secretary for Private Sector Exchange | |
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Rebecca A. Pasini joined the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Private Sector Exchanges in July 2023. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister - Counselor, Ms. Pasini has been an American diplomat since 1997.
Ms. Pasini previously served as the Director of Public and Congressional Affairs in the Bureau of Consular Affairs from 2021-2023. Other Washington assignments have included positions in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, the Office of Foreign Missions, and as a liaison to the Department of Homeland Security. She has also completed multiple overseas tours, including as Minister Counselor for Consular Affairs in Islamabad, Pakistan, and as the Consular Chief in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Belfast, Northern Ireland. Other tours included Mexico City and Kuwait.
A Maryland native, Ms. Pasini has a Ph.D. in Political Science from Indiana University, a master’s degree in National Security and Resource Strategy from the Eisenhower School, National Defense University, and an undergraduate degree from Mary Washington College.
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