New York City Marathon Will be a Lifelong Memory for Au Pair
Posted on Thursday, November 17th, 2016 at 9:31 pm.By Victor Da Costa, J-1 au pair from Spain
Victor Da Costa shows off his New York City Marathon medal.
The TCS New York City Marathon for me has been more than a race or just some other achievement. It was about coming back to New York, a city that was my home during my first year as an au pair. It is a city where I have some of the best of memories – my amazing host family, some great friends, and a lot of walks around the city. Read More ›
Categories: Program Spotlight
Lessons Learned by J1s: Stereotypes are Meant to be Broken
Posted on Tuesday, November 15th, 2016 at 7:46 pm.By SunJeong Lee, Client Relations Officer, Cultural Vistas
A version of this blog post was originally published on the Cultural Vistas Blog
Food brings everyone together. Afghani and Pakistani international visitors (pictured here) break bread with a Vermont family.
Interning and living in a new country will give you a new perspective. It’s a chance to explore and immerse yourself in a new culture. Many of our sponsors, including Cultural Vistas, love hearing how the Exchange Visitor Program changes perspectives and builds connections.
Recently, we asked our participants how their perceptions of America have changed after their U.S. exchange programs. Join us for the next five Tuesdays to explore the answers to this question. In light of recent global and domestic affairs, exchange visitors reflections will leave you inspired and hopeful for positive change.
Categories: Program Spotlight
J-1 Runs the City in 2016 TCS NYC Marathon
Posted on Thursday, November 10th, 2016 at 7:18 pm.By Liam Godbert Brown, J-1 au pair from the United Kingdom
Liam Godbert Brown is a British university graduate who came to the United States as an au pair. He won the lottery to run in the New York City Marathon, which took place on Sunday, November 6. This is his second marathon. He ran the New Jersey Marathon this in May.
Liam Godbert Brown shows off his NYC Marathon Finisher Medal.
Why did you want to run the TCS New York City Marathon?
New York has been one of my favourite cities for a very long time and it’s been incredible to be living nearby for the last year. As a long time runner, I’ve always wanted to participate in races held in my favorite cities. Now that I’ve done New York I’ll have to try to compete in London.
Categories: Program Spotlight
Meet the J-1 Volunteers Behind the New York City Marathon
Posted on Tuesday, November 8th, 2016 at 9:37 pm.By Lynette Evans-Tiernan, Communications Manager for the Exchange Visitor Program
Moira Cacia and Angela Mininni (J-1 au pairs from Italy) we‘re very excited to see so many Italians running the race and happy to cheer them on.
On Sunday, November 6, more than 1,000 J-1 international exchange visitors – students, interns, au pairs, and research scholars – volunteered at rest and water stops along the 2016 TCS New York City Marathon course, supporting the 50,000 runners from over 135 countries who ran the race. Meet some of the volunteers and read about their experiences:
Categories: Program Spotlight
A Life-Changing Journey: Travelling, Cultures, Growth, Friends and Family
Posted on Wednesday, November 2nd, 2016 at 9:06 pm.By Garazi Alkorta, J-1-Au Pair from Spain
A version of this story was originally published on Expert Au Pair
Stunning views of the city from the Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center)
When I decided to start this journey called the au-pair experience, being more than 5,000 miles away from home for a year, on my own, living and sharing experiences with strangers sounded like a scary idea. Let’s jump into the car and travel through this – not always so easy – road that turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life.
Categories: Program Spotlight
The Great Escape: J-1 Designs Scavenger Hunt Experience
Posted on Thursday, October 27th, 2016 at 9:07 pm.By Petar Dragnic, J-1 Summer Work Travel Alumni from Serbia
Petar and Andreaa monitoring players in “Escape Room”
I participated in the Summer Work and Travel program in 2013 and 2014, and I can say that participating on this program was the best decision I made in my life! I spent two summers working in the Asticou Inn, a fine-dining restaurant in Northeast Harbor, Maine. It is a small town on the beautiful Mount Desert Island, which is a home of Acadia National Park. I had a chance to meet a lot of great people from America – and also from other parts of the world. Besides having fun with my friends, I had the opportunity to learn a lot of new skills related to customer service and business management.
Categories: Program Spotlight
The Countdown Begins! J-1s Will Volunteer at New York City Marathon
Posted on Tuesday, October 25th, 2016 at 9:52 pm.By Lynette Evans-Tiernan, Communications Manager for the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program
J-1 Visa Exchange Visitors Volunteer at the 2015 TCS NYC Marathon
We’ve officially started the countdown to the New York City Marathon, Sunday, November 6.
Why are we at the State Department so excited about this event? Well, more than 1,000 J-1 exchange visitors – students, interns, au pairs, and research scholars – will be volunteering at rest and water stops along the race course to support the 50,000 runners from over 135 countries who will run the race. These J-1 students will be the largest single group of volunteers at the race, onsite to ensure the marathon runs smoothly. In additional, several J-1 exchange visitors will be running the marathon.
Categories: Program Spotlight
A Delightful Internship in Horticulture
Posted on Friday, October 7th, 2016 at 3:06 pm.By Kata, J-1 Intern from Austria
Katya rotating plant racks at her internship at Plant Delights.
Going to another country and experiencing their way of life was something I always desired. At a very young age, I did several exchanges to countries like New Zealand and Spain, but I was never interested in going to the United States. Nevertheless, I think it was meant to be that I heard about this great nursery called Plant Delights, a mail order nursery that exists to create an amazing botanical garden in the so-called triangle area of North Carolina. Having spent most of my youth in a specialty nursery, I knew this was the place to be to receive further training for my horticultural career.
In 2015, I started doing more research on Plant Delights as part of my master’s thesis on networks and knowledge transfer in the perennial business. It only made sense to include this nursery in my research since it is internationally known for its exotic and highly rare perennials. After a one day visit to this nursery and botanical garden, I knew that this is where I wanted to do an internship. I talked to my intern coordinator and was connected with J-1 sponsor Ohio State University, who helped me obtain a J-1 visa. After a lot of paperwork, I was ready for departure on February 1. When I arrived in the United States, my coordinator picked me up from the airport, took me to my future home and showed me around.
Categories: Program Spotlight
Seeing the Business Side of High End Retail Sparks Ideas for J-1 Interns
Posted on Tuesday, October 4th, 2016 at 9:14 pm.By J-1 Intern Anna Martynova from Russia
Originally published on InterExchange Blog
J-1s admire jewelry by Turkish designer Sevan Bicakçi
As a marketing intern, I am very curious about marketing, branding and advertising of industry leading companies. So, I was thrilled to receive an invitation to InterExchange’s cultural meetup at Barneys New York Madison Avenue location. Luxury retail is one of the most challenging and interesting industries for marketing, especially in New York City, and I was very excited to get a chance to learn more about it.
Barneys is more than a luxury department store in NYC: it’s an iconic store that has become a part of fashion’s history. It has built a worldwide market presence and now has customers all over the world. But I had no idea how the company got to where it is – and I was looking forward to finding out.
Categories: Program Spotlight
Living a Dream
Posted on Friday, September 30th, 2016 at 2:56 pm.By Binish Desai, Secondary School Student from India
Blog originally published on Rotary Voices
Binish Desai and the brick his company makes from industrial waste.
India is my Nation
Valsad is my Station
Helping is my Aim
Binish is my Name
I’ll never forget the introduction I used as an exchange student.
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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