DePauw students bound for

Five current DePauw students and one graduate of the university have been accepted to participate in the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) program.

All six of the DePauw-affiliated applicants who received an interview for the program were accepted. They are Kelly M. Gagnon, Kim Ryan Harper, Jeremiah T. Lee, Lauren E. Li, Corinne McWilliams and Madison B. Murphy.

JET is administered by the Japanese government. The premise of the program is to bring native English speakers to Japanese public schools and government offices to teach and translate.

In 2007, JET welcomed 5,119 participants from 41 countries.

The six from DePauw will travel to Japan this summer for orietation and sessions before heading to their respective communities and locations throughout the country.

"It's a tribute to our students and the programs we have at DePauw that we had six undergraduates accepted into this competitive program," said Hiroko M. Chiba, associate professor of modern languages (Japanese) and director of the Asian studies program, who is DePauw's liasion with JET. "All of them are great students. Student interest in the JET program has dramatically increased this year, which I think is an indication that our students are looking for more global post-graduate opportunities."

DePauw is among the nation's top colleges and universities for the percentage of students who study abroad according to Open Doors 2007, and one of the initiatives in the university's strategic plan calls for increased focus on bringing more foreign students to Greencastle for their studies.

This year, 45 new undergraduates came to the university from 19 foreign countries.