Long Beach-Yokkaichi Sister City Assn.
Trio to Represent Long Beach in Yokkaichi, Japan
The Trio from Long Beach going to Yokkaichi as ambassadors are, left to right, Faustine Chow, Kari Milton and Gage Hulsey.
June 26, 2009
Kari Milton, a teacher in the Long Beach Unified School District, and Long Beach high school students Faustine Chow and Gage Hulsey have been selected as goodwill ambassadors to represent the City of Long Beach in its Sister City of Yokkaichi, Japan, for three weeks this summer.
They will leave July 21 and return Aug. 11. This is Long Beach’s 45th Annual Trio Cultural Exchange.
The Long Beach-Yokkaichi Sister City Association selects one male student and one female student and a teacher to accompany the students for the three-week cultural visit.
This delegation of three Long Beach ambassadors travels as a group and follows an itinerary developed by officials of Yokkaichi.
The Long Beach association pays all transportation expenses to Yokkaichi and return and the host city, Yokkaichi, or the Japanese host families, provide transportation, food and lodging in Japan.
Milton, a computer teacher at Perry Lindsey International School in Long Beach who has earned National Board Certification (highest honor in teaching), was director for an overnight technology camp two summers ago and has chaperoned young tennis players during tournaments.
She is a graduate of Brigham Young University with a B.S. in geography and Northern Arizona University with a master’s in educational technology.
“I understand the importance of bridging friendships with Japan and feel that this will provide an excellent opportunity for the students and myself,” said the Long Beach resident.
Chow, a senior in the PACE program at Long Beach Poly High School, began learning Japanese during her freshman year. The Long Beach resident is a member of Poly’s Chamber Orchestra, Student Commission and the Varsity Badminton Team.
“I am fond of learning new things and traveling to new places which this program allows me to do,” Chow stated. “I think it is important to have an exchange of students from different countries to share new ideas and to keep unity with each other.”
Hulsey is a junior in the PACE program at Long Beach Poly High School and also has studied Japanese since his freshman year. He plays guitar in the Jazz Band and Reno Jazz Band and is an amateur magician.
“I feel this is an excellent opportunity to gain perspective on the world and its people through interactions with another culture,” shared the Long Beach resident.
Yokkaichi, located about 20 miles from Nagoya in central Japan, is Long Beach’s sister city. Known for its production of fine tea and exquisite pottery, Yokkaichi has become a major port and industrial complex.
Trio applicants must be Long Beach residents and/or Long Beach Unified School District students and citizens of the United States, possess a record of good citizenship in school and community, have participated in school and community activities and have an interest in being an official ambassador of goodwill from Long Beach.
In addition, students should be a member of the 10th or 11th grade in the spring semester of their application and have a 3.0 grade point average or higher from the ninth grade through the first semester of the current school year.