Hello everyone! My name is Sarah Longanecker and I am from Shorecrest High School in Shoreline Washington. Today, I applied to go abroad next year to Japan for the 2013-2014 school year, through a program called American Field Service (AFS) intercultural student exchange program. (This means I will leave in the middle of my Sophomore year of High School and return the second semester of my junior year. I am currently a Freshman.)
While attending school in Japan I will be completely immersed in their culture, and have a chance to share about the culture that lies with us here in America. I am very interested in other countries from all over the world and knew as soon as I found AFS that I wanted to study abroad. After studying Japanese language and culture for almost a year now at Shorecrest, I have grown extremely fond of Japan. I hope to learn as much as I can from Japan and teach as much as well. The thought of studying abroad and all it entails makes me feel like it will help me develop my communication, teamwork and leadership skills. Not to mention I will make lifetime memories friends and have amazing, irreplaceable experiences that will only ready me to take on the many other challenges that await me in life. Of course studying abroad is a challenge on its own, but I know it's one I am ready to take on.
As previously stated I am a Freshman in high school but I am still very busy. Apart from homework and friends I study as hard as I can to make sure I have the materials 100% understood. I am a former member of the Art club, International club and random Acts of Kindness club. Even though I would have loved to continue those clubs my homework was more important so I recently stopped attending in order to continue studying. Last year I was also an Officer on the 8th grade National Honor Society which Helped me build on my speaking and leadership skills and get a chance to interact with the community. I hope to apply these skills in order to help my fellow AFS students and to help overcome the many challenges I would be to face during my time abroad.
I hope to earn enough money to go abroad. Tuition for AFS Japan is genereally around 13,000$ for a full year but I'm not giving up! I am working very hard to raise money through fundraisers I have planned with the help of my friends and I plan to work as hard as I can to make my dream a reality. I would be extremely thankful if you would consider sponsoring a portion of my tuition. No amount is to small, every little bit helps me get a little bit closer! Thank you for your consideration in my endeavors. Click on the ChipIn! gadget on the top right of this blog to help me with my journey, by making a secure non tax-deductible donation. I would really appreciate it if you would forward my blog to anyone else who you think might be interested in sponsoring my year abroad by forwarding the link http://sarahlonganeckerjapan.blogspot.com/ Thank you so much!
-Sarah
