December 2013 — Twenty-one undergraduate students from colleges and universities across the United States have been named recipients of Bridging Scholarships for Study Abroad in Japan.The winners will receive awards of up to $4,000 to assist with their living expenses while they study in Japan during the Spring 2014 semester.

Since the program began in 1999, 1,340 scholarships have been awarded by the US-Japan Bridging Foundation to students studying abroad in Japan. The Japan-US Friendship Commission, an independent federal agency promoting mutual understanding between the United States and Japan, in an effort to highlight public / private partnerships, initiated the Bridging Project scholarship program and established a 501(c)(3) private foundation, the US-Japan Bridging Foundation (www.bridgingfoundation.org), to accept contributions.

The goal of the Bridging Project is to promote study abroad in Japan by larger numbers of American undergraduate students. The scholarship program is administered by AATJ.

Contributors to the 2014 Bridging Scholarship fund include Aflac Japan, AIG Japan Holdings, Ronald and Maria Anderson, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, Laurence Bates, Bill Breer, Bloomberg LP, the Bridging Scholars Alumni Fund, Estee Lauder, Exxon Mobil G.K., Bill Farrell, Robert Feldman, Daniel and Mikiyo Foote, the Freeman Foundation, GE Corporation, Goldman Sachs Gives, the Robert Grondine Memorial Fund, Ken Hakuta, Duan and Myrle Hall, Ellen Hammond and Yasuo Ohdera, Norimasa and Atsuko Hirai, Barry Hirschfeld, Jr., Ichigo Asset Management, JP Morgan Japan, Shiro Kambara, Jonathan Kushner and Miyuki Takahashi, Lockheed Martin, Kathy Matsui, Mission Value Partners, Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas), Morgan Stanley Japan, Oak Lawn Marketing, ORIX USA, Thierry and Yasko Porte, Brian Strawn, Paul Takanawa, George and Brad Takei, Temple University-Japan Campus, Gary Thomas, Toyota Motor Corporation, Christopher Wells, and Deena Zakim.

Bridging Scholars hail from a variety of schools–public and private, large universities and small colleges. Their majors range from computer science to fine art, but they share a common interest in Japan, its language, and its culture. Their destinations also vary, from giant campuses in Tokyo to intimate consortium programs in rural Japan. A list of the recipients, their home schools, their majors, and their destination programs can be found below.

For information on the US-Japan Bridging Foundation, visit www.bridgingfoundation.org.

Recipients of Bridging Scholarships for Study Abroad in Japan, Spring 2014

Clifford ALONZO / University of San Francisco (CA) / Sophia University / International Business
Cameron BOTHNER / University of Michigan / Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies / Linguistics
Isabel BUSH / College of William & Mary (VA) / Keio University / Asian Studies
Deanna CROWE / University of Iowa / Nanzan University / Marketing and Japanese
Michael DeANGELIS / University of Massachusetts, Boston / Soka University / Art History
Diana DINH / Austin College (TX) / IES Tokyo / Psychology
Sandra HERNANDEZ / University of Cincinnati (OH) / Nagoya University / Biomedical Engineering
Jessica KELLEY / Sonoma State University (CA) / Tokyo International University / Psychology
Christopher KELLY / University of Mount Union (OH) / Temple University Japan Campus /
   Japanese (Temple University – Japan Campus Bridging Scholar)
Kathryn LOVETT / University of Oregon / Meiji University / Computer Science
Fatuma MOHAMED / University of California, Irvine / Doshisha University / Japanese
Christopher NGUYEN/ Oberlin College (OH) / Waseda University / Economics
Tracy PA / Grinnell College (IA) / Waseda University / Sociology
Efrat PELEG / Bard College (NY) / Kyoto Seika University / Studio Art and Asian Studies
Jocelyn RUSSELL / St. Norbert College (MN) / Tsuru University / International Studies
Taiyo SCANLON-KIMURA / Oberlin College (OH) / Kansai Gaidai / Politics and Asian Studies
Devon SHANNAHAN / Georgetown University (DC) / Nanzan University / Japanese
Anastasia SKOVIAK / St. Norbert College (MN) / Tsuru University / Psychology
Kristin WHITAKER / University of Mount Union (OH) / Kyoto University of Foreign Studies /
   International Studies and Japanese
Sarah WINTERBOTTOM / Carthage College (WI) / Kwansei Gakuin (USAC) /
   Public Relations and Japanese
Ayshe YEAGER / University of Alaska Fairbanks / Osaka Gakuin / Geography and Japanese Studies