Thank you to all our donors! The UNO Privateers Abroad Scholarship Fund crowdfunding campaign has raised $1,150 from 19 donors! 

The UNO-Japan program is an amazing opportunity for our students to take in the culture of a new land while expanding their academic learning outside of the classroom. With your support, our students will participate in a unique experience that will help them grow academically, professionally, and personally while going on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure!

Our campaign will end on February 28 and we need your help to raise awareness of our program so we can help more students. Please consider sharing our page link: https://crowdfunding.uno.edu/project/1790 with your friends and family via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or email. 

Thank you! ありがとうございます。

We had the pleasure of visiting with 2011 alumnus Christopher Brown the other day. He's in New Orleans for a brief visit, and then returns to his job teaching English in Japan, where he has found great success and fulfillment for the last 4.5 years. 

When we asked him about the impact of this program on his life, he had lots to say. One quote, however, summed it up: "Where I am now, fundamentally, began on this program." 

He talked about his initial fears before going to Japan - especially right after the terrible disasters in March of 2011 - and overcoming them. And then he talked a lot about the friendships and self-confidence that he has built as a result of the program, as well as the influences that our faculty had on him at the time. He changed career paths thanks to one faculty member's advice, and has found great joy in becoming an educator - himself shepherding the young from one stage of life to the next. This, my friends, is why educators do what they do, isn't it? 

We also asked Chris about scholarships and financial aid. He received a small scholarship (which he did appreciate, and said that it helped ease his mind about basic living expenses as well as to give him a sense of ownership on the program) and took out large student loans in order to go (which he is still working on paying back). He shared with us that although he is still making payments, it was very much worth it and he'd do it again in a heartbeat. Had we been able to offer Chris a Privateers Abroad Scholarship, he might have been able to borrow less.

Chris is "paying it forward" for future students by donating to the campaign and sharing on his social media. Thanks Chris! And we're so proud of you! 

The UNO-Japan program has incredible impacts on our participants' futures. In this video, 2016 UNO-Japan alum, William Archambeault, shares with us the importance of scholarships in financing his transformative educational experience in Japan and how it has led to new career paths in his life!