Marla Uribe graduated with her B.A. in English from Cal State LA in 2016 and had already lined up a teaching position in Japan through the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program. She offered the following brief description of her experience so far:
"I am currently working as an Assistant Language Teacher in the city of Sapporo in Hokkaido, Japan. I had applied through the JET Program in the United States. They had a rigorous application process but after passing their interview stage, I was flown to Tokyo for a two-day conference to learn about my new job as an Assistant Language Teacher. I help Japanese Teachers of English (JTEs) by planning English language lessons alongside them and implementing the lessons in the classroom. Part of my job is to also be a cultural ambassador to the children and people around me to foster a global interest and strong international relationships. I work with junior high school students and they are a lot of fun to interact with. Some students really take an interest in the United States and enjoy practicing their English to ask me about what clothes are trendy or what kind of music is popular in the United States. I even had one student start practicing Spanish with me because her dream is to study abroad in Spain. The language barrier can be a bit daunting but overall the challenge has brought great rewards. I am very happy and cannot wait to return to the United States and bring back this wonderful experience with me when I do."