Previous Scholarship Recipients
Previous Winners' Essays

2008 Scholarship Recipients Announced!

Gabrielle Reinecke, 11th grader at St. Ignatius College Prep
An honors student, Gabrielle is in the chamber singers and handbell choir at school and performs in musicals through her school and the Golden Gate Opera Company. She is bilingual in Japanese.

Judy Zhu, 11th grader at Galileo Academy of Science & Technology
Judy is an award-winning member of the drill team and speakes 4 languages other than English. Her goal is to ease some of the animosity toward Japan among her family and friends.

Alternate: Maggie Huang, 11th grader at Lowell High School
Maggie is a scholar-athlete who is on the swim team and loves to read and write in English, Chinese, or Italian.

The San Francisco-Osaka Sister City Association is proud to offer an opportunity of a lifetime to two high school students in San Francisco through our annual High School Summer Exchange Program . This program is being funded by generous donations from Japan Airlines, MIK International, DEFTA Partners and Applied Materials of San Francisco.

Purpose: To develop an understanding of the people and culture of Japan through the practical experience of living with Japanese families in our sister city of Osaka, Japan, and to serve as ambassadors for the city of San Francisco.

Requirements: Applicant must be a current 9 th , 10 th , or 11 th grade student (in the 2007-08 school year), either residing in and/or attending a public or private high school in San Francisco. There is no language requirement to apply; however, winners of the program will be encouraged to learn basic Japanese prior to their departure (no specific lessons will be provided). Successful applicants must participate in the pre-trip orientation and conduct him/herself appropriately as student ambassadors while in Japan.

Post-trip requirements include: (1) assisting with the visit of the Japanese exchange student in late summer (showing him/her around SF, and/or possibly serving as a home stay family), (2) participating in the April 2009 Cherry Blossom Festival, and (3) completing and presenting to the executive committee a short report on his/her Osaka trip (the format is flexible depending on the student's talents and interests--essay, photo essay, video, etc.) at a meeting to be scheduled sometime in the fall.

Awards: Two students will be awarded round-trip tickets to Osaka courtesy of Japan Airlines. The students will be guests of host families in Osaka and will participate in family-oriented activities during their stay.

The two chosen students and their families will also be awarded free membership to the Association for one year.

Dates: Duration of three weeks, scheduled for mid-July to early August.

Application Details: Submit a completed application form with a parent/guardian's signature and an essay on the topic: “ What two places would you like to visit in Osaka and why? In what ways would your visit to these places contribute to the San Francisco-Osaka sister city relationship? ”

The essay must be no more than 500 words and double-spaced with the names of the applicant and school clearly indicated on all pages. Mail, e-mail, fax, or deliver your application package to:

Ms. Misako Sack
Executive Director
San Francisco-Osaka Sister City Association
c/o Morrison & Foerster LLP
425 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-2482
tel: 415/268-7007, fax: 415/276-7007; email: msack@mofo.com

Application deadline is May 5, 2008 . Those who are selected for the interview will be contacted about their scheduled interview; all interviews will take place on May 9, 2008 . The two final scholarship winners will be notified by telephone and e-mail a few days following the interview. For more information, please contact Emily Murase at (415) 252-2571 or Emily.Murase@sfgov.org , or Misako Sack, Executive Director.