Community
Four Exchange Students Meet with Representative District 80 and Business Owner Long Tran
Recently, students on a scholarship-based high school exchange program met with Long Tran, a Peachtree Corners resident, business owner and Georgia House Representative of District 80. The four students come from former Soviet-controlled communist countries, ranging from The Czech Republic, Germany, Poland and Serbia, and were thrilled to learn from Tran.
Tran, originally from Columbus, Ohio, moved to Georgia in 2010 and opened his business, Peachy Corners Café, in January 2020. Tran is also a second-generation immigrant whose parents come from Vietnam. Tran’s unique perspective was deeply fascinating to the students who prepared questions for him about topics ranging from business, politics and life advice.
The students: Oliwia, from Poland; Aicha, from Germany; Andrea, from Poland; and Stepan, from the Czech Republic, were placed in Alabama through their respective international exchange programs.
Scholar students
Oliwia, Andrea and Stepan came to the States through the FLEX Scholarship, a highly competitive program with three intense rounds of applications, admitting around 2.5% of applicants out of almost 60,000 each year.
Aicha became an abroad student through The Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX), a joint program between the U.S. and German Governments for High School students. CBYX is similarly highly competitive, accepting 3-4% of their pool of applicants from Germany yearly.
Through their programs, they enjoy enhancement activities, such as meeting with Tran, to help them learn and grow. The students, besides learning about Tran’s background and successes, left with meaningful life advice.
“I learned how to be successful,” said Aicha. “It’s so good to have some hope and goals in mind to be successful and work hard.”
“I feel like just talking to him, he calmed me down about my future and that I have time to change,” said Andrea. “He said that with willpower you can do everything.”
Enriching experiences
Danielle Hardaman, a Local Representative for ASSE (International Student Exchange Programs), accompanied the high schoolers as they met with Tran. One of her many roles in ASSE is treating students to enhancement activities.
“We also do some fun things as well, but we take them to a lot of local historic museums, hockey games and things that would be normal American culture-type stuff,” said Hardaman. “We try and keep it a balance of fun and educational so they can kind of see all sides of American society.”
Additionally, the students are involved heavily in service work during their time in America and must have 50 hours of service work completed during their time in the exchange program.
“I enjoy doing community projects,” said Oliwia. “We made one a few weeks ago, which helped our community look for food banks, and before that, we made an after-school program for kids.”
Also, students in the program can actively compare American culture to that of their home country.
“I learned that people can be very different but still find common ground,” said Stepan. “I come from a country that is not religious at all because we have a history with the communist regime. When I came here my closest friends were very religious, but we focused on what we had in common and learned about each other and became friends.”
Learning opportunities
However, not only do the students learn through this program, but almost anyone who comes into contact with these young and bright minds gains substantial insight. Pamela Stafford, a State Coordinator for ASSE, is also a host mom in the program and said she has learned as much from the students as the students learn from her.
“The first thing you learn right off is that teenagers are the same everywhere,” said Stafford. “But then you learn how much freedom we have in America when you talk to some of these students. You also realize a lot about how you’re the same and how you’re different. I mean, …what the program is designed to do is teach you similarities and differences and how to bridge that gap and how to work together.”
This meeting was an outstanding opportunity for both the students and Long Tran as everyone could learn from each other in the welcoming community of Peachtree Corners.
Learn more about ASSE here.
Olympian Jasmine Jones, a standout alumna of Greater Atlanta Christian School (Class of 2020), returned to her alma mater on September 12 to speak to and inspire the next generation of students there.
GAC staff interviewed Jones and also took questions from the students during a Q&A session that included every grade level.
As a member of the U.S. Olympic team and a 12-time Georgia state individual champion during her time at GAC, Jasmine’s visit was a homecoming filled with motivation and reflection. She spoke passionately to the students about the importance of perseverance, goal-setting, and embracing challenges, drawing from her journey from GAC to the University of Southern California and the global stage of the Olympics.
Jones qualified for the Paris Olympics on June 30 and made the U.S. team in women’s 400m hurdles after placing third. She went on to place fourth in the women’s 400m hurdles final at the Paris games.
Students and staff at GAC cheered Jones on during the Olympics. And they cheered her again as she took to the school’s stage to address the audience. Before and after the event, Jones posed for photos, gave high-fives and took time connect with some of GAC’s enthusiastic students and faculty.
Her words — and her accomplishments — left a powerful impression on the crowd, reminding everyone of the heights that can be achieved with dedication and faith.
For more about GACS, visit greateratlantachristian.org.
The renowned performers wowed the audience with a thrilling presentation of dance, drama and fun.
Staff, students and board members of the International Charter Academy of Georgia were given a short-but-thrilling taste of Kabuki when dancers from Miyabiya Japan stopped by the school on September 16 for a special performance.
Offering a preview of the full show they’d prepared for center stage at JapanFest 2024, the troop presented a special short section of a dance titled “Renjishi: The Two Lions.”
Considered one of the most famous pieces in Kabuki, Renjishi is known for its powerful choreography and dramatic expression. It tells the story of the relationship between a father lion and his young son. The powerful movements, dramatic expressions and percussive sound effects symbolize the passing of strength and legacy from one generation to the next.
How the show came about
Miyabiya Japan last appeared at JapanFest in 2016 to great acclaim. This year, with the excitement of their return, the performers made plans to offer a few shorter performances at other places around town in the week leading up to the festival.
Robert Johnson, an advisory board member of ICAGeorgia and a long-time friend of JapanFest and the Miyabiya troop, knew the dual-language, Japanese immersion school would be a great place for one of the shows. He helped organize the day’s demonstration and was on-hand to talk to the crowd and introduce the performers.
The performance
It was the first time having a Kabuki performance at ICAGeorgia. And, as students filed into the school’s gym, the excitement was palpable. The room was humming with happy voices before the show even began.
Johnson greeted the kids with a smile before introducing the award-winning Kabuki troop in both English and Japanese.
“This special group from Japan will be performing at JapanFest, but today they’re performing here for you,” he told the excited crowd.
He went on to explain, “Kabuki is a special form of very dramatic and traditional Japanese dance. Two dancers today will do the Lion Dance.” The youngest children in the crowd shrieked with delight when they heard the name.
“The Lion Dance is like the story of the Lion King,” he continued, “with an otousan (father) lion with a long white mane and his son with a bright red mane.”
After the short explanation of what to expect, Johnson instructed the students (and the adults in the audience) to call for the performers to come out. To the sounds of “Miyabi-ya, miyabi-ya,” from the crowd, the dancers bounded out into the room, onto the space set up for their performance. They greeted Mr. Johnson and the students before getting into the story.
An interactive experience
The show started with a brief instruction of Kabuki movements that got the audience on its feet, following the red lion’s lead. It ended with a bang of confetti that thrilled (and surprised) everyone there.
In between, the story of the two lions was beautifully expressed through the performers’ detailed costumes, traditional kumadori makeup, exaggerated expressions and dramatic movements. At times, the dancers even made their way into the audience. Students and adults alike were riveted from start to finish.
“I’m happy to have the performers come to our school,” said Junko Jones, a founding board member and CFO of ICAGeorgia. “Not all of the students will be able to go to JapanFest. So, it’s nice that they can experience Japan here.”
About ICAGeorgia
The International Charter School of Georgia is a K-6 Japanese immersion school located in Peachtree Corners. They currently have 250 students, with plans to expand the school to offer Grades 7–8 in the future.
Eighty-one of the students will sing onstage at JapanFest September 21 at 1pm. This will be school’s sixth time performing at the festival, having been there every year since the school opened. The students also performed at the state capital in January for Japan Day.
For more information about ICAGeorgia, visit internationalcharteracademy.org.
For more about JapanFest and Miyabiya Japan, visit japanfest.org
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