Celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month: Happy Songkran!
Posted on Wednesday, May 25th, 2022 at 5:10 pm.
Three Summer Work Travel participants from Thailand, pictured from left, Nattaporn Khonghana, Wannida Thongsripleng and Montatip Putawed, are spending their cultural exchange with jobs with the Davidson Hospitality Group at the DoubleTree by Hilton Park Vista in Gatlinburg, Tenn., this spring. In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, they shared information about the Thai new year holiday, Songkran, which took place April 13-15.
“Our families celebrate Songkran annually by gathering together with our relatives and then going to the temple to pray and make merit together. We then go to a special dinner and typically have “Mu Kratha” (Thai BBQ). April’s weather is very hot in Thailand so we follow dinner with a special activity…a water fight! We use buckets and water guns to spray/wet each other. This is a great tradition for everyone in our family. Our families come together at this time very much like the Christmas holiday in the USA.”
Click here to learn more about the Summer Work Travel program.
Would be awesome for Instagram and Facebook, too!!
Categories: Program Spotlight
| About Karen Ward Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Private Sector Exchange | |
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Karen Ward has been with the Department of State and the Exchange Visitor Program for over thirty years. Karen joined Private Sector Exchange as the Director of the Office of Private Sector Exchange Designation in December 2014. She previously had worked on all aspects of the Exchange Visitor Program, including program analyst for the secondary school student, teacher, post-secondary student, research scholar, trainee and intern categories and served as the Division Chief of the Private Sector Programs Division for three years. She spent three years as a Policy Analyst and a Senior Compliance Office within the Office of Exchange Coordination and Compliance. She has extensive knowledge on program management, the regulatory process, form development, and SEVIS administration.
Karen, a native of Maryland, is a career federal civil servant with more than 30 years of service, working mostly in the areas of international exchanges and operation management. She enjoys mentoring and volunteering in her community.
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