2019 JETAA Chicago Shinnenkai Recap

Photo by Timothy Sullivan

The 2019 JETAA Chicago Shinnenkai was a great success!

Despite the snowy weather on January 19th, almost 100 alumni, friends, family and members of the Japan-America community in Chicago came to the Japanese American Service Committee on north Clark St. to share in our cultural celebration! Attendees witnessed an amazing aikido demonstration from students and instructors with the Japanese Culture Center, made their own onigiri with rice from Slurping Turtle, learned to write their names in katakana, created zodiac calendars with Tampopo Kai, were instructed in the art of calligraphy, and able to try on beautiful kimono and yukata thanks to JETAA Wisconsin’s Adriana Avery and Katie Slupsky! All while enjoying delicious Japanese cuisine and beer generously donated by Sapporo USA.

In memory of Daniel Pruitt, fundraising efforts were focused on a donation to the Be The Match Foundation. Thanks to the generous donation of fukubukuro prizes from:

• Kokoro Care Packages

• Kizuki Ramen

• The Japan Information Center

• The Japan America Society of Chicago - Young Professional Committee

• Hekiun Oda

• The Shedd Aquarium

• The Museum of Science & Industry

• DePaul University’s Ray Meyer Fitness Center

• The Chicago Flower & Garden Show

and the efforts of several of our community members in procuring them, including:

• Bree Story

• Josh Schanen

• Julianne Medrano

• Kam Lie

• Lara Espinoza

• Ruby Benigno

• Alex Steveson

• Tim Sullivan

• Victoria Nugent

We were able to raise FINAL DONATION AMOUNT for an organization doing important work to connect bone marrow donors with those in need on behalf of our dear friend.

Thank you again to all of our partners, volunteers and everyone that attended in support of our efforts to raise a donation for the Be The Match Foundation! To learn more about how you can continue to support Be The Match, visit their website!

To see the dance performed in memory of Daniel, check out our YouTube page.

Looking for more Japan related fun throughout the year? Follow us on social media and continue to visit our website for updates on all of our upcoming events! And check out the Japanese American Service Committee and the Japanese Culture Center for even more ways to stay connected!

We will see you again in 2020 to celebrate the year of the rat!

Photo by Timothy Sullivan

San Francisco Career Forum 2019

February 16 & 17 (Saturday & Sunday)

https://careerforum.net/en/event/sf/

• Panel discussion

• Networking lunch

• Career advising

• Resume seminar

Participating Companies Include:

Cybozu, Inc., East Japan Railway Company, Fenox Venture Capital, LINE Corporation, NEC ENTERPRISE COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES, NIKON CORPORATION, NIPPON SHOKKEN U.S.A. INC., PwC Japan, SAP Japan Co., Ltd., SoftBank Corp., Sojitz Corporation, ZOZO Technologies, Inc. and more!

Full Company list: https://careerforum.net/en/event/sf/companylist_39/

Career Forums are for anyone who has at least beginner level Japanese and English abilities AND is looking for a full-time or internship position

Register and begin applying to companies here: https://careerforum.net/en/event/sf/

There is no cost to register for or attend Career Forums.

If you have questions about any of the Career Forums, please reach out via cfn@careerforum.net

JETAA Chicago NW Suburbs Meeting Call In

Join us for a call-in to the JETAA Chicago Open Board Meeting. This is an opportunity for all the suburban JET Alumni to get involved in JETAA Chicago without having to trek all the way downtown.

Optional nomikai to follow.

Our call in meeting will be at the Mt Prospect Library, Room 2J on the second floor. RSVPing on the Facebook event page is appreciated. Please reach out to Troy Wiesner at wiesnertroy@gmail.com with any questions or concerns.

Looking forward to seeing you there!