In collaboration with CU Study Abroad, CAS launched its Japan internship program this summer. Three companies participated: Chiyoda Rubber Company, U.S. Meat Export Federation and Mitsubishi Corporation. Students completed the internship for academic credit and practiced Japanese language skills.
CU Boulder Today reported on the internship and how it came to fruition:
“The internships expose pre-professional students to a country they may not otherwise learn about during their time at CU Boulder,” said Danielle Rocheleau Salaz, executive director of the center. “No matter what major students have in this global society, they will be exposed to Japan—the third largest economy in the world. And through the humanities they can study what they love and make that a viable career path.”
Salaz, who received a master’s degree in Japanese Language and Civilization from CU Boulder in 2000, has championed this internship program because she feels strongly that students should have hands-on, international experience in a business world that values global understanding.
In 2013, when United Airlines launched the direct flight between Denver and Tokyo, Salaz represented CU on a delegation assembled and led by Denver Mayor Michael Hancock on the inaugural flight. While in Tokyo, she met with a group of Japanese CU alumni and presented her idea of creating the internship program.
A number of alumni donors have made scholarship funds available to help defray student costs for the internship.
One of the alumni who played a significant role in helping make the internships possible is Kazunori Takato (Math ’73) president of Chiyoda Rubber Company. Another was Akira Horie (MMktg ’54), retired senior managing director of the Nagoya Branch at Mitsubishi Corporation. Horie was in the first class of Japanese Fulbright scholars to study in America."
For more on the interns' experiences, read the whole story at CU Boulder Today by Kenna Bruner.