Tia Vierling ’22 just got back to the United States after spending 13 months in Japan, where she taught English to local students through the Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program.
“My senior year at CC saw my academics drift into unexpected orbit around Japan and Japanese American identities,” Vierling says. “My grandfather’s family emigrated from Japan and were incarcerated in the Japanese American incarceration camps during World War II. After that experience, my grandfather chose not to teach Japanese to his children, including my mother. My choice to take Japanese at CC in my senior year was driven partly by the loss of that language between generations in my family. I wanted to gain some of that knowledge back.”
At the same time, Vierling, a Neuroscience and English double major, was writing her English thesis on No-No Boy by John Okada, a novel about the Japanese American community in Seattle following World War II.
“The culmination of my academics around this sphere led to me applying for the JET Program: I wanted to continue to improve my Japanese and maybe reach out to some family in Japan,” says Vierling, who added that she also wanted to live abroad and try teaching so she could decide if she wanted to pursue a career in education.
Vierling applied to both the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award to Kenya and the Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program and ultimately withdrew her Fulbright application after accepting the position with JET. Vierling says both programs are competitive but there aren’t any English teaching Fulbright positions offered in Japan; JET, which is run by the Japanese government, fills that role.
Vierling listed Kumamoto, a city on the island of Kyushu, as her preference for her placement because that’s where her great-grandparents emigrated from. However, she ended up being assigned to Tsu-shi, a city located in Mie Prefecture, on Japan’s main island.
On a typical day, Vierling would wake up early and catch the bus to her school, where she worked as an assistant teacher in elementary and middle school classes. She played games with students in English and helped them with worksheets, reading sections, and their English pronunciation.
“It was a completely lovely time. I always ate kyushoku, which is Japanese school lunch—it was a great way to be introduced to some new foods and always delicious,” Vierling says. “After school, I would go to tennis with a group of Japanese friends or stop by a free local Japanese class, city festival, or local restaurant.”
Roy Jo Sartin, Writing Center Specialist, helped Vierling with both the Fulbright and JET applications.
“The Writing Center in general is a great application resource, though as a former Peer Consultant I might be biased,” Vierling added.