Nebraska Wesleyan University senior Paul Snyder has dreamed of living and working in Japan ever since he was an eighth-grader in Scottsbluff.
Now the psychology major will spend the next year there where he will teach English to Japanese students as part of the Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program. Snyder was selected from a pool of international applicants.
Snyder’s curiosity in the Japanese culture started with simple exploration on the internet. He found shows and games that intrigued him more than those of his own culture. In high school, he made friends with Japanese exchange students and started learning the language online.
“The curiosity initially fostered by those shows and games never died down and has persisted throughout my entire life,” said Snyder. “This is a curiosity I am so thrilled to finally be able to explore firsthand through the JET Program.”
At Nebraska Wesleyan Snyder joined international organizations and minored in Japanese.
Following his year in Japan, Snyder will return to Nebraska where he will attend law school. He hopes to become an international attorney.
“My main goal for the JET Program is simple, I want to experience firsthand a culture that I have studied and loved since I was a child,” he said. “This really is a dream come true for me.”