Help me Study Abroad this Fall in Tokyo, Japan

Stuarrt Boekelman Start Date: Apr 22, 2022 - End Date: Sep 3, 2022
  • Educational/Research Trip
  • Professional Development
  • Study/Degree Abroad
  • Tokyo, Japan

My Travel Story

by: Stuarrt Boekelman Start Date: Apr 22, 2022 - End Date: Sep 3, 2022
  • Educational/Research Trip
  • Professional Development
  • Study/Degree Abroad
Hi, my name is Stuarrt Boekelman, and I recently got accepted to study abroad in Tokyo, Japan this Fall. A little about me; I've had a major passion for technolgy ever since I was a kid. I remeber being 12 and hearing Oculus announce their first kickstarter, the concept blew my 12 year old brain away and I think that's what really set me on a path to want to work with VR and AR technolgy. I didn't make it through highschool as I lost sight of my passion for awhile and since I wasn't in school I was working. I've had 5 jobs since the age of 16 and I'm 22 now. It wasn't until a couple years ago when I cleaned up my act that I refound myself pursuing my passion. I was spending the end of last year teaching myself the basics in Java and C# when I realized some of the companies I would like to work with someday might not even bat an eye at my application if I don't have a bachelor's degree. It was at that moment I decided to get my GED and go to College. I passed my tests on the first try and immediatly enrolled at Edmonds College. I'm in my second quarter currently but am proud to say I'm maintaining a 4.0 GPA. I'm hoping to make honor's roll again this quarter and plan on going to WSU after getting my assoicate's at Edmonds. Studying abroad in Tokyo will help me achieve further academically and help me with my future career path. What I mean is when I graduate with my bachelor's some of the companies I want to work with are based out of Japan rather than in the US. For instance, Diver-X is based in Chuuou-ku, Tokyo, and IBM (Japan Headquarters) in Chuo City, Tokyo. I had already been planning on taking JAPN & 121 and was going to plan a trip on my own time to fully immerse myself in the culture but truthfully my longest breaks are two weeks being in school and while that's a long time to be gone, I don't think it's long enough to get truly immersed in another culture, especially with one like Japan that has so much to offer. That's why I want to go and why I see it as beneficial to my academic as well as my professional career goals. I find everything about Tokyo fascinating. If I had to choose something I'm most excited about, it would be getting to experience and live in a culture that I wanted to be a part of since I was a kid, leaving behind my ways as an "American" and truly adapting to another culture and their way of life. I'm really looking forward to going and could use any support, as funding for this trip is going to be alot. Thankyou for taking the time to read my story and for supporting my dreams and my passions to help me further my education, career, and overall devolpment as a person.

                                                                                    -Stuarrt Boekelman
  • Tokyo, Japan

Updates

2

  • We Got Our First Donation

    We got Our First Donation
    We got our first donation and lots of time to go still. Thank you Monte for being the first to help fund this trip, I really appreciate it.

  • First Post

    First Post
    Thank you again for being here and helping me out along this journey of mine. I don't expect to reach my full goal but any donations will go a long way.

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