Have you ever wondered about what types of careers people use their Japan experience to go into? It’s more diverse than you might think! In this panel we will chat with JET alumni who have taken very different paths to careers in Japan, how their JET experience helped them, and what advice they have for those seeking to build careers in Japan.
Panelists
Nathan DeWitt, Senior Consultant at Link Global Solution, Intercultural Training
Nathan DeWitt is a Senior Consultant with LINK GLOBAL SOLUTION (LGS). Nate finished his Coaching Training with The GOLDVARG CONSULTING Group in January 2021 and his Masters in International Business Management (MMI) with the University of Phoenix (2005). He also holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Ohio University (1998). Moving to Japan in 1998 on the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program put Nate in Gunma. Initially, he taught in secondary as well as special needs schools. In 2001, he was recruited by the prefectural office (Kencho) to support the teamwork between new foreign teachers and their local counterparts. In 2003 he moved from Maebashi to Tokyo to join LGS (then INTEC Japan) and focus on intercultural (IC) training for new hires and expatriates being sent overseas. Since then, Nate has worked in many different capacities for the organization: program coordinator, senior instructor, client liaison, interpreter, recruiter, mentor, and more. Now a Senior Consultant, Nate enjoys facilitating training programs, supporting sales as well as coaching and new instructor development. In order to maintain the relevance of his expertise, in 2015-2016 he took a sabbatical year in the US where he was investigating: 1) Overseas assignment’s impact on expat families; 2) the current state of classroom tutoring vs. online tutoring; and 3) what online learning and/or followup can do for LGS programs. For the past six years he has been involved in several Japanese-US tie-ups and their post-merger integration (PMI) programs. He has been a part-time lecturer at Tokyo Science University for seven years and is regularly invited to be a guest lecturer at Waseda, Aoyama and Rikkyo universities.
Transitioning from the public to the private sector in 2003 I saw the evolution of 国際化 to the age of globalization, or グロバル化。The lessons that Gunma taught me while team-teaching and later helping others to do the same are still pertinent in the classrooms as well as company boardrooms today.
Seanacey Pierce, Ikebana Instructor and Co-Owner of Kinse Ryokan
Seanacey participated in the JET Program in Tochigi-shi (2007-08) and Kyoto-shi (2008-09) then worked in the US as Program Administrator for the Associated Kyoto Program from 2010 to 2013. She moved to Kyoto permanently in 2013 and with her husband co-owns Kinse Ryokan, a guesthouse and cafe/bar. She began practicing Sogetsu style ikebana in 2008 and received permission to teach ikebana in 2014. In 2019 she received the First Rank Somu Teacher’s Diploma. In addition to teaching workshops at Kinse, she is creating an ongoing film/photo series called “Foraged Ikebana,” and she does occasional custom floral work for events and businesses.
Markane Sipraseuth, Kwansei Gakuin University, Instructor of English as a Foreign Language
I taught three years on the JET Programme in Hyogo prefecture at a junior high school and several elementary schools (2003 to 2006). After JET I taught at a private high school and then attained a master’s degree in education from the University of Washington. Since then, I have been teaching for nine years in the Kansai region at several universities and now I am pursuing a PhD degree in economics from Kyoto University. On my free time, I enjoy hanging out with my family, travelling, riding train, eating, and finding new Japanese brand products at convenience stores.
Derek Yamashita, Yamagata, Co-Founder of The Hidden Japan, Tourism
Derek is the co-founder of the Hidden Japan, a tourism company sharing the region of Tohoku. Derek is a commercial photographer and avid nature photographer with a passion for sharing the beauty around him. He moved to Yamagata from Los Angeles and calls the vast nature and rich culture of this region home.
