David C Email & Phone Number

I first discovered my passion for internationalization in 2017 when I studied abroad at Meiji University in Tokyo, Japan. Immediately, I met amazing people from Australia, Canada, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. All lovely people from all over the lovely world. We bonded over our mutual interest in each other’s cultures, as we learned to live a Japanese lifestyle. And we became more than just ambassadors of our own countries; we became friends. From this experience I finally wholeheartedly understood that beautiful quote by the great Maya Angelou: “Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.”It was after this study abroad program that I decided to devote my life to international cultural exchange. I returned to California and immediately got involved in international organizations at my university that provided a platform for international students to connect with one another and feel welcomed in the bustling and diverse city of Long Beach. In addition to these organizations, I became an English tutor for motivated students from multilingual backgrounds. I devised specific lesson plans catered to individual student’s needs, tracked their academic performance, and assisted in their supplementary coursework provided by their teachers. I established great rapport with my students and I admittedly learned just as much from them as they had learned from me. After graduating with my B.A., I made the life changing decision to move to Japan to work as an Assistant Language Teacher for the JET Program. Since beginning in July 2019, I have daily drawn and improved upon my experiences from tutoring and studying abroad to provide bilateral cultural dialogue in the classroom and in my community. I am honored to have a platform that allows me to share with my students that even Americans “cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die.”I believe my passion for cultural promotion and acquired skills in education will be beneficial in furthering the objectives of internationally looking companies and organizations.