JET Programme Series: From Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to Japan - Roxcell John
2022/8/25
皆さんこんにちわ (Mina san konnichiwa, Hello everyone).
Hey look ma!!! I made it!!!
My name is Roxcell John, 33 years of age (soon to be 34) from the beautiful island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. I became cognizant of this programme through my best friend’s success in being the chosen applicant for SVG in 2016. In March of 2022, a friend of mine sent me a facebook post about recruitment for the Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme, as I would have informed her about my interest. I had 2 weeks to get all of the documents completed, which included a 2 page Statement of Purpose that was edited and redone about 6 times. This was accomplished with 2 days remaining, because I would have been resolved to be a part of this programme since the previous year, completing a 3 months Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL/TOEFL) Certificate. To be honest, I had almost lost all hope, after numerous calls to various government agencies in November 2021 to no avail.
Now let me tell you a little about who I am. With my mother’s mantra of “education is key to getting you out of poverty” I decided to apply for an Economically Disadvantaged loan in 2010 to study my favored Psychology at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus in Trinidad and Tobago. After I was called into a meeting and told that there were too many applicants for this course of study and that I would have to rethink my major, I opted for a Bachelors of Science in Politics but still managed to pursue a minor in Psychology (gaining First Class Honors). Having completed my studies, I took up employment, once again, at a prestigious Bank in SVG; the same one where I had completed a stint prior to leaving for University. While I enjoyed my time there and learned a lot, my love for Psychology and my passion for teaching, mentoring and counseling young people never waned. In fact, that taste of being in the HR Department, only produced in me a greater desire to pursue my dream of teaching.
Now, I am sure some of you may be wondering why I did not stay at home and teach, and my broad retort to that is “where is the adventure in that?”. Now I am not usually an adventurous person, however, I enjoy learning about different cultures, watching dramas from Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan (and at one time “Bollywood”), reading books originally written from authors around the world and learning different languages. I, in fact, spent 2 months of 2021 self-studying Korean, 3 months and 6 months learning Mandarin and Spanish respectively, in online classes, and the last 8 months studying Japanese. Now, admittedly, I am still a beginner in all of these languages especially owing to my recent focus on Japanese, but I intend to continue to pursue this passion relentlessly.
Once I passed the nerve-wracking weeks after my interview awaiting news on the outcome of the recruitment process, and received the confirmation that I was successfully selected to be an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT), and learnt about my placement, I was enthusiastic. Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, was once home to my inspiration for being on this Programme, my best friend. Indeed, as a result of the numerous pictures seen and stories heard over the years about this charming city, I am eager to begin this new journey. I intend to let my adventurous spirit take flight and explore, not just this city, but also the Prefecture and the wider Japan. Most importantly, I hope to use the experience gained over the years, including my journey of foreign language learning, my ambition, my alacrity as well as the knowledge amassed during the 3 months of my TEFL certificate to be an asset to the Shimonoseki Education Center, my Japanese Teachers of English and to the students diligently hoping to learn and improve their English. Additionally, I hope to be assiduous in the task of sharing the Vincentian culture to the Japanese society and learning more about Japan over my contracted time. My time in Japan, working as an ALT, will give me hands-on experience in lesson planning as well as the confidence to teach children of various ages, which will be useful in my planned career of becoming a qualified Secondary School English Teacher.
Principally, I want to thank God for everything that I was faced with over the past 2 and a half years that led me to this, my mom for her prayers and always being a strong support, my best friend and others who helped with the application, including the SOP. To the Embassy of Japan in Trinidad and Tobago and to the Foreign Affairs Department in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, I extend my humble and heartfelt gratitude.
よろしくお願いします(Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu, I’ll do my best through the future).
JET Series: From Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to Japan (Japanese Embassy's Facebook)
JET Programme Series Archives
Hey look ma!!! I made it!!!
My name is Roxcell John, 33 years of age (soon to be 34) from the beautiful island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. I became cognizant of this programme through my best friend’s success in being the chosen applicant for SVG in 2016. In March of 2022, a friend of mine sent me a facebook post about recruitment for the Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme, as I would have informed her about my interest. I had 2 weeks to get all of the documents completed, which included a 2 page Statement of Purpose that was edited and redone about 6 times. This was accomplished with 2 days remaining, because I would have been resolved to be a part of this programme since the previous year, completing a 3 months Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL/TOEFL) Certificate. To be honest, I had almost lost all hope, after numerous calls to various government agencies in November 2021 to no avail.
Now let me tell you a little about who I am. With my mother’s mantra of “education is key to getting you out of poverty” I decided to apply for an Economically Disadvantaged loan in 2010 to study my favored Psychology at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus in Trinidad and Tobago. After I was called into a meeting and told that there were too many applicants for this course of study and that I would have to rethink my major, I opted for a Bachelors of Science in Politics but still managed to pursue a minor in Psychology (gaining First Class Honors). Having completed my studies, I took up employment, once again, at a prestigious Bank in SVG; the same one where I had completed a stint prior to leaving for University. While I enjoyed my time there and learned a lot, my love for Psychology and my passion for teaching, mentoring and counseling young people never waned. In fact, that taste of being in the HR Department, only produced in me a greater desire to pursue my dream of teaching.
Now, I am sure some of you may be wondering why I did not stay at home and teach, and my broad retort to that is “where is the adventure in that?”. Now I am not usually an adventurous person, however, I enjoy learning about different cultures, watching dramas from Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan (and at one time “Bollywood”), reading books originally written from authors around the world and learning different languages. I, in fact, spent 2 months of 2021 self-studying Korean, 3 months and 6 months learning Mandarin and Spanish respectively, in online classes, and the last 8 months studying Japanese. Now, admittedly, I am still a beginner in all of these languages especially owing to my recent focus on Japanese, but I intend to continue to pursue this passion relentlessly.
Once I passed the nerve-wracking weeks after my interview awaiting news on the outcome of the recruitment process, and received the confirmation that I was successfully selected to be an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT), and learnt about my placement, I was enthusiastic. Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, was once home to my inspiration for being on this Programme, my best friend. Indeed, as a result of the numerous pictures seen and stories heard over the years about this charming city, I am eager to begin this new journey. I intend to let my adventurous spirit take flight and explore, not just this city, but also the Prefecture and the wider Japan. Most importantly, I hope to use the experience gained over the years, including my journey of foreign language learning, my ambition, my alacrity as well as the knowledge amassed during the 3 months of my TEFL certificate to be an asset to the Shimonoseki Education Center, my Japanese Teachers of English and to the students diligently hoping to learn and improve their English. Additionally, I hope to be assiduous in the task of sharing the Vincentian culture to the Japanese society and learning more about Japan over my contracted time. My time in Japan, working as an ALT, will give me hands-on experience in lesson planning as well as the confidence to teach children of various ages, which will be useful in my planned career of becoming a qualified Secondary School English Teacher.
Principally, I want to thank God for everything that I was faced with over the past 2 and a half years that led me to this, my mom for her prayers and always being a strong support, my best friend and others who helped with the application, including the SOP. To the Embassy of Japan in Trinidad and Tobago and to the Foreign Affairs Department in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, I extend my humble and heartfelt gratitude.
よろしくお願いします(Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu, I’ll do my best through the future).
JET Series: From Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to Japan (Japanese Embassy's Facebook)
JET Programme Series Archives