Route J-1: Safety Demonstration in Ocean City
Posted on Thursday, July 24th, 2014 at 8:17 pm.
Today we are going to you watch a big safety demonstration on the beach in Ocean City.
And the reason this is exciting for me is because this is a time when all communities coming together to make sure the students know how to be safe. They’re gonna talk about bike safety about beach safety about vacuation in a case that hurricane or a major storm.
This is something Ocean City takes very seriously and I really wanted to see it first hand.
Through my visits I’m seeing that this the true cultural experience, not just for our students but for the communities that they are being hosted in.
I’m seeing just smile and talking and comparing their culture with our culture and our culture their culture.
And I’m just seen friendships is being made right in front of my eyes.
From the host employers who plan and prepare for their arrival to the members of the community who just think its neat to have foreign students and who think, “Wow I really want them to learn a little something about this community before they go.”
I am seeing that when you bring foreign students into a community into our own backyard really wonderful things happening. My colleagues and I will be out on the road for the whole summer so I would love it if you join and follow me and my travels. And you can follow me on J-1 Visa.State.gov/routej1.
It is so much fun, so please join me.
Categories: Videos
Volunteers Make J-1 Students Feel Welcome in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
Posted on Monday, July 21st, 2014 at 1:28 pm.Much like how the Ocean City, Maryland community embraces their J-1 student visitors, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware also goes to great lengths to make students feel welcome, safe, and appreciated. Recently, I attended a lively dinner with some 250 international students and 20-30 community volunteers at the Epworth church in Rehoboth Beach.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Robin Lerner, and Peter C. Schwartzkopf, the Speaker of the Delaware House of Representatives share dinner with J-1 Visa Summer Work Travel Students.
Categories: Everyday People, Participants
Ocean City Special
Posted on Thursday, July 17th, 2014 at 5:21 pm.Ocean City, Maryland is a popular Atlantic seaside town with a long and rich history of tourism that I was unaware of until my visit to this thriving shore town. For instance, I just learned that the first paying vacationers to Ocean City can be traced back to 1869!
This is a photo of me with Brooks Trimper of Trimper Rides, a family-owned amusement park in Ocean City that’s been entertaining beach-goers since 1893.
Categories: Employers, Participants, Who's the Person Behind
International Students and the Jewel of the Susquehanna
Posted on Tuesday, July 15th, 2014 at 7:11 pm.
In this post, my colleague, Nicole Deaner, shares her experience after attending a cultural program in Pennsylvania over the weekend where many J1 participants visit and work.
This weekend I had the pleasure of visiting Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – a gem of a city nestled on the banks of the Susquehanna River and host to hundreds of international exchange students. Harrisburg has a long and vibrant history of settlement and has served as a center of commerce and transportation. For centuries, it has welcomed people from many different origins and that still holds true today.
Categories: Employers, Participants
It Takes a Village!
Posted on Friday, July 11th, 2014 at 5:25 pm.
One of the many iconic lighthouses that dot the Nantucket coast line.
What exactly does it take to make sure 80,000 foreign university students visiting seasonal tourist spots across the country have a safe and high quality experience? For starters, a welcoming community with host employers that go the extra mile. Today, I want to spotlight two host employers in Nantucket, Massachusetts, but first let me share some nice-to-know information. According to the Nantucket Historical Association, Nantucket means “faraway island” in the language of the Wampanoag tribe who first inhabited the island. Nantucket is as quaint and charming as it is remote and rugged in places. It holds an important place in the history of Massachusetts, and of the early settlement on the east coast. Today, it is one of those special places that adorn the covers of travel magazines.
Categories: Employers
Cookie Diplomacy
Posted on Friday, July 11th, 2014 at 5:19 pm.
Cookies!
I just learned that the chocolate chip cookie is celebrating its 75th year! I also learned that it was created in Massachusetts. It’s funny how you can spend your life eating something and never consider how it actually came into existence. Thanks to the encyclopedic brain of Ocean Edge executive chef, Phil Flath, 80 students from Macedonia, Bulgaria, Jamaica, Romania, Ireland, Serbia, Poland (and there were more), as well as myself, learned how connected culinary traditions are to the people of Massachusetts. Chef Phil taught us how to make the original chocolate chip cookie recipe. Read More ›
Categories: Who's the Person Behind
Engaging Exchange Participants at the J-1 Kickoff
Posted on Wednesday, July 9th, 2014 at 7:38 pm.
Above is a photo of some spectacular young women from the previously mentioned New York event. Milica (pictured on the end to my left) is from Serbia. She asked Under Secretary Stengel for advice on applying her experience as an intern here in New York to her future endeavors as a leader back in Serbia. He told her that she can support democratic values when she goes home, and applying those tenets, she can be a strong leader in any setting.
Categories: Participants
Route J-1 Kicks Off in NYC
Posted on Wednesday, July 9th, 2014 at 7:17 pm.
Ah, the Big Apple. New York City is the world’s city, but it is also a truly American town. Young people all over the world dream of being a part of the bright lights and making their dreams come true. Eighty such young people on the J-1 international intern and trainee programs were recently there for the kickoff of our Route J-1 summer tour. If you would like to know more about opportunities with our J-1, check out our Intern or Trainee programs.
The State Department’s Under Secretary for Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy, Richard Stengel, conducted a program on leadership with the participants who represented 32 countries and three continents. We held the program at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations building. What a view! Above is an action shot of Under Secretary Stengel inspiring us all. Learn more about Rick Stengel and also follow him on Twitter @stengel.
Categories: Participants
| 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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