We are pleased to announce that Amanda Rollins is the recipient of the first annual JET Alumni Association of Washington, DC Member of the Year award for her significant contributions to the alumni association and her incredible spirit of volunteerism.
Amanda has been a member of the JETAADC board for three years as the JET Ambassador Program Chair, coordinating K-12 and university classroom visits for JET Alumni. Under her direction, the JET Ambassadors program has doubled outreach efforts and reached an all time high in our virtual year of 17 visits. In 2020, Amanda also launched the virtual Japanese Script Reading Club which brings JET Alumni together every Sunday to read fun scripts in Japanese. In addition, Amanda has organized our phenomenally successful annual welcome back picnic for returning JETs for the past three years, never failing to have an excellent turn out and excellent food!
From 2009 to 2013, Amanda taught English in Osaka with ECC, and then worked for the Japan Foundation in Los Angeles from 2013 to 2017. She considers herself to be a dedicated member of the Japan-America community in DC, and is very pleased to be recognized as the very first JETAADC Member of the Year.
“I hope that this award will encourage more Friends of JET to become active members of JETAADC and volunteer on the board,” said Amanda. “I feel most comfortable in a room full of people who have lived and worked in Japan (whether Japanese or non-Japanese, JET or Friend of JET), and I will continue to build small grassroots bridges between our two countries.”
For this coming year, Amanda will serve as the Professional Development Chair, so feel free to reach out to her for your Japan-related job hunt. Please join us in congratulating Amanda for this incredible achievement!
Inspired by JETAADC’s 30th Anniversary Legacy Award that recognized one of our founding members, Paige Cottingham-Streater in 2019, the Member of the Year Award seeks to acknowledge members of our community who have made significant contributions to JETAADC. We are very excited to highlight members of our incredible community.