In July, JICUF welcomed twelve ICU undergraduate students for our Global Link summer program. During the four weeks, from July 5th to 27th, the students were exposed to global careers in New York City and Washington, D.C. Calling on the wide network of ICU alumni and friends in both cities, JICUF organized office visits, professional roundtables, networking events, volunteer activities and professional skills workshops. The activities aimed to inspire the students as they contemplate their future career paths.

We’d like to thank the alumni and friends who took their time to engage with the students, whether by hosting them in their offices, participating in a roundtable, or attending a reception. We would also like to thank the wonderful students – it was a pleasure to host you!

Below is a schedule of many of the activities during this year’s program, followed by a comment by JICUF Program Assistant Luke Palermo, who accompanied the students throughout the four weeks.

<Week 1>

July 5th (Thursday) – Orientation, welcome lunch at Dinosaur BBQ, and Columbia University tour

July 6th (Friday) – Professional skills development workshop (public speaking and resume writing), 9/11 Tribute Museum guided tour

<Week 2>

July 9th (Monday) – United Nations tour, U.N. roundtable at UNICEF, and visit to the Permanent Mission of Japan to the U.N.

Ms. Ikuko Yamaguchi (‘92 graduate, UNICEF) hosted the roundtable in the morning and was joined by Mr. Noriyuki Shiina (‘98, UNOPS).

July 10th (Tuesday) – Visit to the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership (CGP), NGO roundtable
Ms. Kanako Mabuchi (‘13) hosted the students at CGP.

July 11th (Wednesday) – Reflection session, journalism roundtable

Mr. Satoshi Ukai (‘93, Asahi Shimbun New York Bureau Chief), Ms. Megumi Nishikura (‘08, Producer at Blue Chalk Media), Ms. Ariana King (‘14, Reporter at Nikkei Asian Review) joined the journalism roundtable.

July 12th (Thursday) – Volunteer activity at Henry Street Settlement, visit to the Ali Forney Center, reception with alumni and friends

The students spoke about Japan and introduced traditional Japanese games to children participating in the summer camp at Henry Street Settlement.

July 13th (Friday) – Volunteer activity at God’s Love We Deliver, BBQ at JICUF trustee Mr. Takeshi Ueshima’s residence.

<Week 3>

July 16th (Monday) – Travel to Washington, D.C., visit to the Japanese Embassy
Mr. Yoshihiko Higuchi (‘95) hosted the students at the Embassy.

July 17th (Tuesday) – Free time at the National Mall, visit to the U.S. Capitol
Mr. Luke Murry (‘03 OYR) hosted the students at the Capitol.

July 18th (Wednesday) – Visit to Yomiuri Shimbun and NHK’s Washington D.C. Bureaus
Mr. David McCagg (studied at ICU for one semester in ‘06) arranged the visit to NHK, although he was not available on the day of the visit.

July 19th (Thursday) – Visit to the World Bank and Mitsui & Co. Washington Office, reception with alumni and friends
Ms. Yoko Kobayashi (‘90) hosted the students at the World Bank, and Ms. Shinobu Kusakabe (‘94) at Mitsui.

July 20th (Friday) – Return to New York

<Week 4>

July 23rd (Monday) – Finance roundtable, visit to Alliance Bernstein
Mr. Danny Ha (‘94 OYR) hosted the finance roundtable at his office, Aberdeen Standard Investments.

July 24th (Tuesday) – Legal roundtable and visit to Ellis Island
Ms. Fusae Nara (‘85) hosted the legal roundtable at her office, Pillsbury, and was joined by Mr. Edward Lenci (‘86 OYR).

July 25th (Wednesday) – Visit to Google and Sony

Ms. Yoshiko Matsuda (‘02) arranged the visit to Sony.

July 26th (Thursday) – BBQ at JICUF Executive Director Paul Hastings’ home

July 27th (Friday) – Survey and final reflection session

Luke Palermo (JICUF Program Assistant):

“Guiding the 12 Global Link students around the city was a fulfilling activity in and of itself for me. Even as we went through a busy schedule of activities for a full month, the students still found the time and energy to be friendly and they eagerly absorbed all the talks from the alumni. They even taught me a little bit about life at ICU, like dorm initiations. Getting to know the students was a pleasure, and I have no doubt that they will put their time in NYC to good use as a stepping stone towards a bright and successful future.”