Community Engagement: Experiencing a New Kind of Family
Posted on Tuesday, December 29th, 2015 at 3:26 pm.
Park City, Utah at night
Nestled in the Synderville Basin of the Rocky Mountains, decorated with snowcapped mountains and frosted evergreens, Park City, Utah is an example of a town that has fully embraced the Exchange Visitor Program. In Park City, Summer Work Travel and Intern/Trainee participants are an integral and rich part of the social fabric, lifeblood, and heart of this seasonal resort community.
Each December hundreds of J-1s officially call Park City their temporary home. For participants, it’s often a season of “firsts” – first job, first time living on their own, and first time seeing snow, since many of them are traveling from the Southern Hemisphere (Argentina, Peru, Chile, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Uruguay), as well as Australia and New Zealand, on their summer breaks, which is winter in the United States and the Northern Hemisphere. With all these firsts, community engagement is an essential ingredient for making participants feel welcome in their new hometowns.
Vail Resort (formerly Park City Resort) ski lift
That’s why for the fourth year in a row, Deer Valley Resort and Vail Resort (formerly Park City Mountain Resort and Canyons Resort), the two largest employers of J-1s in town, have hosted a Welcome Night. The event gives students an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the city, local institutions, and the businesses that employ them.
This year’s event was hosted at the Park City Marriott on the evening of Thursday, December 17. The free event drew in over 600 participants, who were eager to socialize while enjoying free pizza donated and delivered by local pizza chains every 15 minutes and win raffled door prizes, discounts, and giveaways from local businesses. Participants also had the opportunity to visit booths staffed by local institutions, including Park City Transit, the Park City Police Department, and the Christian Center, which offers a Roommate Roundup program to help participants secure housing. The Welcome Night is truly a community-driven effort by local businesses and their generous donations.
Robin Lerner with J-1 students in Park City
As the years have gone by, more and more international students are choosing to spend their Summer Work Travel program in Park City. This year alone, more than 70 participants chose to return to Park City for their second – or even third – consecutive year to work, travel, improve their English skills, and learn about U.S. traditions and culture. The success of this program in Park City can be attributed to the high level of community support and engagement. This open armed approach has proven to be a win-win for everyone.
SWT participants sign up for the State Department’s Exchange Alumni Network
When local residents and businesses energetically come together to support and assist new J-1s arriving in their hometowns; promote the health, safety and welfare of participants; and strive to enhance cross-cultural interactions, it creates an environment that not only makes participants feel welcome, but also allows them to experience a new kind of extended family in their new home away from home.
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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