IAHV SF Bay Area Partners to Deliver a Youth Study Abroad Program from Osaka, Japan!

December 27, 2014

In 2013 & 2014, IAHV in San Francisco Bay Area partnered with Osaka Global School (OGS) to help coordinate a Youth Study Abroad Program sponsored by the Japanese Government.

The IAHV Team had the joy and honor of bringing together employers, educational institutions and youth organizations to help students become better prepared to lead with new perspectives and a broadened vision.

Masahiro Terada, OGS Study Abroad Coordinator, reached out to IAHV to conduct a yesplus workshop each year for 48 OGS students (16-19 years old), 4 OGS Educators and 2 Japanese government officials.   This year as a service project the students visited a local Farmers Market and gave Free Hugs along with origami animals with their name printed in Japanese characters.   They were a huge hit with the local farmers and families!

IAHV Participated in a Full Spectrum of Enriching Experiences with the Students

  • Led yesplus! program empowering tomorrow’s leaders with tools to build confidence, clarity of mind, social connection, and resilience. Witnessing students unfold to their full potential is a memory that lasts a lifetime. Every city can offer IAHV’s YES! and yesplus course to students visiting from abroad. Leads: Jennifer Stevenson & Justin McGurrin (see testimonials below)
  • Facilitated DeAnza College lecture series on Environmental Stewardship, Green Building and Astronomy with a visit to the Planetarium.
  • Facilitated UC Berkeley campus tour.
  • Facilitated Google campus tour.
  • Facilitated Cultural Exchange led by the Cupertino High School Japanese National Honor Society. OGS students shared their Japanese cultural presentations and performed a FLASH MOB which inspired everyone to get up and dance non-stop!
  • Accompanied students in a breathtaking bike ride across the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Led Panel Discussion on “Success in School and Valuable Life Lessons” shared by Karishma Anand, Uma & Johann Berlin.
  • Created a private Facebook Page with the students, teachers & government officials to share pictures (+1,000), videos and stay connected.
  • Accompanied OGS Students conducting research on hot topics of our times by interviewing people in historic San Francisco neighborhoods (Fisherman’s Wharf, Castro District, Wharf, Haight/Ashbury, Golden Gate Park).
  • Led OGS Farewell Party – Hands down the best party in town filled with scrumptious vegan food from Enjoy, dance, gratitude, happiness and friendship!

The IAHV Team was tremendously grateful and honored to work with the Japanese government, educators and students.

Osaka Global School Students speak

“Through this course, I learned many skills that are useful in my life. For example the saying that Jennifer told me, “The present moment is inevitable” impressed me. I often run away from things that I have to do in that moment. Later, most of time I realized I made mistakes and feel regretful. So everything that comes in front of me for now on I will take responsibility for and overcome them. Moreover whenever people say bad things to me, I won’t change my style. I will listen to them but won’t be affected. Thank you Yesplus.”

“I really wanna take this course again!! No one can change the Past, No one knows the future!! All the things we did, we made, we had, anything good, anything bad – All of that made who we are now, so we just need to accept the past, to enjoy this moment, then we can be happy all the time, all of life!! I learned from this course and will try to apply it in my life.”

“Through this course, I felt like I could change myself. Before I participated in this course, I was just not confident, nervous, and shy. Also I was hiding my feelings inside my heart. However, I feel like I can be “myself” by doing the breathing and hearing the class knowledge points. I always worried about what others thought about me, and I hated public speaking/giving presentations. But I realized we have to accept “myself” and “others” – being myself became important. 100% effort and enjoying the present moment helps us focus on what we’re doing. I realized many things I previously rejected that are important for living. Thank you letting us experience many wonderful things, for letting us realize important things for our lives. I really enjoyed and I’ll keep practicing breathing.”

“When I took this course, at first I was nervous and shy to speak to everyone, but after a few days I could share all my opinions, experiences, etc…, and share my own ideas!! After a few days, I woke up before my alarm, feeling really clear. So I thought, “Oh the breathing is affecting my body!” Awesome! The games where fun and I learned “cooperation” and “how to be happy.” These four days were really fun and a good experience for me. I will try to continue the breathing in Japan! Thank you”

In December 2014 the OGS Students graduated from their program sharing…

“Yesplus teachers were great and gave us advise about our lives. We were lucky to learn how to control ourselves.