Profile Highlights: J-1 Change Makers
Posted on Thursday, October 2nd, 2014 at 8:12 pm.It is always a privilege for me to meet young people on J-1 programs. So many J-1 exchange visitors truly exemplify the power of international exchange. As explained in my previous entry, I had the opportunity to meet seventy J-1 participants at a three-day Civic Leadership Summit hosted by a designated sponsor organization. The Summit gave participants new skills and ideas to return home with, and to use to make a positive impact. I was floored by the passion in these young people! I also felt inspired hearing that they will use their J-1 experience to improve the world around them. In this post, these remarkable young people speak for themselves and you will see the influence of people-to-people connections!
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight
Fostering Tomorrow’s Change Makers!
Posted on Thursday, September 25th, 2014 at 7:49 pm.As demonstrated throughout Route J-1, J-1 programs attract impressive and highly motivated youth who come to the United States to grow as individuals and to learn about American culture. I greatly enjoy getting to know these young people and it is a privilege for me to hear their stories, especially their career aspirations. So many leave their J-1 experiences ready to conquer the world! I had the opportunity to talk to about 70 such motivated J-1 interns, trainees, and Summer Work Travelers this summer when I was invited to take part in a three-day civic leadership summit hosted by a J-1 sponsor.
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Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants
Employee of the Quarter!
Posted on Wednesday, September 17th, 2014 at 1:19 pm.
Richmond with Sous Chef Jeffrey Place
I could not leave Sedona without introducing you to Richmond, a culinary intern from the Philippines who is training at Enchantment Resort. Much like Kosta Cvoro, the student I profiled in my last post, Richmond is excelling in his training at Enchantment. I know this because he was just awarded Employee of the Quarter! He was nominated by the resort’s executive chef, sous chef, and just about everybody he worked with, it seems. This young man has made quite an impression here!
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Categories: Employers, J-1 Visa, Participants
Enchanted with Arizona
Posted on Tuesday, September 9th, 2014 at 7:51 pm.
Robin Lerner and J-1 international students at Enchantment Resort in Sedona, AZ
After a few stunning days at Grand Canyon National Park, I headed for Sedona, Arizona. It was so hard to leave the awesome beauty of Grand Canyon, so I was thankful to be heading nearby to Sedona to enjoy the spectacular red rocks before ending this leg of Route J-1.
View of Sedona’s famous red rocks.
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight
Accolades on the Rim
Posted on Thursday, September 4th, 2014 at 7:49 pm.There are times when certain individuals capture your heart and inspire you. Two young J-1 Summer Work Travel (SWT) participants I recently met at Grand Canyon National Park showed me – in living color – what a can-do, entrepreneurial spirit really looks like, and how lucky we are that such motivated and impressive individuals regularly choose to take part in J-1 programs.
Eliada Miron, a SWT participant from Romania
Eliada Miron is an extraordinary young woman from Romania who spent this summer working in the reception department at the Yavapai Lodge.
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight
A Grand Experience
Posted on Tuesday, September 2nd, 2014 at 1:55 pm.
Grand Canyon National Park
As I mentioned in my post from Rocky Mountain National Park, our national parks are a true treasure of this country. I had the wonderful opportunity to visit one of the most famous and widely visited parks – Grand Canyon National Park. Grand Canyon is one of the seven natural wonders of the world. This amazing gorge was created through tectonic uplift, erosion, and other natural phenomena – exposing stone half the age of the earth!
Categories: Employers, Participants, Program Spotlight
Fudge Versus History
Posted on Friday, August 29th, 2014 at 3:53 pm.
View of Lake Huron and Mackinac Island from Fort Mackinac, built during the American Revolutionary War by the British.
In this post, my colleague, Nadine Zaatar, shares her experience during a recent visit to Mackinac Island.
If you had to choose between working at a fudge restaurant or at a historical landmark, which would you choose? For the several hundred participants placed in Mackinac Island, this is the exact conundrum they faced when deciding on the direction of their Summer Work Travel (SWT) program. I guess the main question one has to ask their self is, “Do I have the self-discipline to avoid eating the tasty samples all day?” Read More ›
Categories: Employers, J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight
Volunteers Multiplied
Posted on Tuesday, August 19th, 2014 at 7:20 pm.
Students visit to the White House!
We regularly talk about the public diplomacy “multiplier effect” achieved through J-1 exchange programs. Exchange programs connect people around the world and link people through common interests, values, and passions. While U.S. designated exchange organizations – sponsors – implement individual programs, the State Department oversees the overall functioning of the Exchange Visitor Program and how sponsors conduct their individual programs. We ensure that the goals we seek to achieve through public diplomacy are fulfilled through J-1 sponsored exchanges. Route J-1 has allowed me to see for myself how that is happening in the area of volunteerism, a major focus area of the State Department’s public diplomacy mission around the world.
Categories: Employers, Participants, Program Spotlight
The Rhode Island State House
Posted on Thursday, August 14th, 2014 at 3:37 pm.
The Rhode Island State House
In this post, my colleague, Deb Shetler, shares her experience during a recent visit to Rhode Island.
Earlier this month, eight Summer Work Travel (SWT) participants had the privilege of meeting with the Governor of Rhode Island and touring the impressive marble state building as part of a cultural event organized by their sponsor organization.
Categories: Participants, Program Spotlight
J-1 Students Rock!
Posted on Tuesday, August 5th, 2014 at 5:17 pm.
Students getting ready for their community service activity
In this post, my colleague, Deb Shetler, shares her experience during her recent trip to South Dakota.
Last week, my colleague Yupa and I had the pleasure of getting to know sixteen J-1 international students placed at South Dakota’s Custer State Park Resort as they participated in a community service activity. These energetic students spent a day supporting the state park in its effort to build a new amphitheater.
Categories: Employers, J-1 Visa, 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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