UCS grad among 32 nationally taking part in Japanese study program

A 2014 Utica Community Schools graduate Selena Mona was among only 32 U.S. high school students selected for a prestigious summer study program in Japan.

Mona, who graduated from the Utica Academy for International Studies, spent two and a half weeks in the Tohoku region of Japan earlier this month through the 2014 JET Memorial Invitation Program for U.S. High School Students.

The JET program, sponsored by the Japan Foundation, allowed Mona to spend more than two weeks in July meeting Japanese students, experiencing Japanese culture, and studying the language. Mona is among only three Michigan students selected for the program.

JET was created in 2011 in memory of the two beloved American teachers of English who lost their lives in the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011.