Students in the freshmen and sophomore classes have the opportunity to go to Japan this summer. Three students and one teacher from each county are eligible to be chosen to go on this trip. The excursion will last about two weeks over the summer. 

The students would be staying with a host family and have a few days to visit the big cities of Japan, including Tokyo and Hiroshima.

“This is an amazing opportunity for our students and staff,” Spanish teacher JJ Epperson said, “You get to learn more about the culture and what they do on a day-to-day basis. It’s an amazing opportunity. For our students, it’s great to put on applications. You just don’t get this experience anywhere else.”

The host family will be providing food, and the students will be doing everything that the natives do, as if it was just another day in Japan. The students will have to bring spending money for the few days of travel, so that way they can buy snacks or surverners. 

The Gibson County Economic Development Corporation works with a similar company in Japan to pair the families with the students. Tami Muckerheide is incharge of putting this program together, as well as letting schools know about the opportunities of going to Japan. 

To go, the person interested would have to apply to the scholarship, and then a committee will select on whether the applicant gets to go or not. 

To apply for the scholarship, the students have to write a 350 word application essay and turn it into the GECED by Monday, February 24. The students also have to print out their transcript and have three 3 letters of recommendation.

“I want to be able to go to another country and to see what it is like outside of where I live,” sophomore Ava Bartley said. “I would want to be able to experience almost a completely different world.”