Junior selected for international program
June 2, 2023
An Upper St. Clair High School student has been selected to participate in the 2023 High School Diplomats (HSD) Japan program. Junior Isaac Bernstein will be among 16 American and 16 Japanese students who will attend a 10-day cultural enrichment experience in Japan this summer.
Students will visit such places as Hiroshima, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka and Tokyo, site-seeing and making official visits. The entire trip, including airfare, accommodations and meals are covered by the HSD scholarship.
The HSD program brings together high school students from the United States and Japan each summer through two parallel experiences. With HSD U.S., American students travel to the East Coast of the United States to participate in eight days of cultural exchange alongside a Japanese roommate on the campus of the University of Virginia. With HSD Japan, American students who complete the U.S. program travel to Japan for several weeks the following summer.
In addition to the HSD program, Isaac is an accomplished percussionist, having recently participated in the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association’s All-State Band. In January, he was named among this year’s 18 Under Eighteen honorees by Junior Achievement of Western Pennsylvania. This spring, he was inducted into the USCHS chapter of the National Honor Society. In addition, Isaac is an active member of student council and the yearbook.
HSD is sponsored by AIG and the Freeman Foundation, and is in affiliation with the National Association of Japan-America Societies.
According to the program’s website, “All three groups believe that fostering a global appreciation in high school students not only benefits the participants but helps to build a foundation of cross-cultural understanding for the future.”
Applications for the HSD 2024 program, taking place on the grounds of the University of Virginia in July 2024, will be available in September. For more information or to apply to the program, visit www.highschooldiplomats.com.