This past summer, GPI US had the opportunity to welcome 7 different high school groups from Japan to the beautiful city of Los Angeles to participate in our Global Empowerment Mindset (GEM) Program at UCLA. Here, led by some of UCLA’s brightest student leaders, students challenged their minds in a way like no other by immersing themselves in a different country’s culture and in the English language.
The GEM Program that the Japanese students participated in focuses on the idea of personal empowerment in a global setting. Through GEM, Japanese students had the opportunity of a lifetime to come to a different country and learn valuable life skills and traits that will allow them to access their own unlimited potential, and achieve success as a global citizen in their personal, academic, and professional lives.
While coming to the U.S. definitely put the students out of their comfort zones, it is the collaborative and supportive environment created by GEM sessions that gave students the motivation, inspiration, and confidence to enthusiastically and successfully face the many challenges of each new day in Los Angeles.
Hear what some students had to say about their experience participating in the GEM program:
“While my English communication, speaking, and listening skills certainly improved, I was also able to learn other skills as well through various activities. While I faced some challenges during the program, I think that with those challenges included, this became a valuable personal experience. The biggest thing to me was getting rid of my fear of English and gaining confidence.”
“I was able to use English in a fun way, and there were so many things I was able to learn.”
“While playing games, I learned a lot of indispensable things.”
“I thought a lot about the idea of leadership, and I was able to exchange opinions with my group members.”
“My ambition towards English has surged, and I learned a lot about America.”
While the students had a great time interacting with UCLA students and getting to know UCLA’s beautiful campus and facilities as well as the Westwood area, students also had the opportunity to visit other world-famous LA destinations and world-renowned schools. Students were able to visit The Grove and have lunch at the famous Original Farmers Market, take a trip to Santa Monica, and go on a tour at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Students also got to visit the prestigious schools CalTech and USC.
In addition, Japanese students also had the amazing opportunity to participate in an exchange activity with local American high school students in Los Angeles.
“I was able to make a lot of English-speaking friends,” says one Japanese student.
“I was able to make new friends, and I saw how fun it could be to speak English,” says another student.
Participating in this kind of exchange activity with local youth gave the Japanese students the opportunity to have fun using English with native-speakers their own age.
Through the amazing time the students spent in Los Angeles participating in the GEM program, we are confident that these students will carry these fond memories of their trip for the rest of their lives, and use the skills they learned during the program to better their own lives as well as global society as a whole.
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Are you an educator or organization interested in GPI US’ GEM Program, our programs at UCLA, or any of the other programs our company offers? Are you a college student interested in working with us for our various programs at different colleges across America? Please contact us for any inquiries about collaboration, work, or participation in any of GPI US’ programs.