Japan Bound

Hi my name is Jessany. I'm a seventeen year old student at Jennings Community Learning Center in St. Paul. A lot of my time is dedicated to school because I strive to make Jennings a better place for my peers. Currently, I serve on my school Board of Directors as a student representative, and also serve as an elected state officer for the MAAP STARS organization. When I'm not at school you can usually find me at church. Whether I'm playing for the basketball team, tutoring younger kids, volunteering or attending bible study, it's one of my favorite places to be.

After a busy week it's nice to spend time with family. My mom and I love to bake together, it gives us a chance to bond and eat delicious treats. I remain open-minded so I enjoy trying new things. I like to seek different learning opportunities, because the more you seek the more you'll find. I am grateful for for all of the opportunities that have come my way, because it has molded me into a well rounded person. My hope is to serve as a role model for younger kids, and to pave the way to the future, by attaining knowledge, helping others and being a catalyst.

Foreign Exchange Student

In September of last year I applied for a foreign exchange program through Rotary International. The application process was long, and was followed by club and district interviews. Last December I received an acceptance letter to spend a year in Japan.

Why?I've had an interest in Japan since the first grade. We all had to do a project on a country and mine was Japan. For the first time in my life I realized that the world was bigger than the block I lived on. As I got older my curiosity grew. To this day I still enjoy trying new things. I think that we should all step out of our comfort zones to learn about each other. The more you know the more you realize you don't know.

How?
One day I decided that I wanted to try meditating. My friend from school and his mom Rebecca ( who serves on the school board of directors with me) offered to take me. It's funny how one opportunity can lead to others. It all started with a conversation between Rebecca and me. She asked me about my interests and somehow we ended up talking about travel. I've always wanted to be a foreign exchange student but I didn't know how to get started. My mentor Cat was an exchange student through the rotary and suggested that I look into it. So I did. The next day I went to school and started researching. I found the details including deadline and required materials. I realized I only had three days to turn it in. I was hard, but I didn't give up.