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Recent University of North Georgia (91¸£Àûµ¼º½) graduate Alyssa Mulcahy will spend the 2024-25 academic year in Japan through the .  

A cadet who earned a degree in East Asian studies and was on the National Service Leadership Track, the Augusta, Georgia, native looks forward to being immersed in Japanese culture as she teaches English.  

"I get to work with all types of people," she said.  

Mulcahy studied abroad at Nanzan University in Nagoya, Japan, in spring and summer of 2023. She originally chose her degree path on a whim before picking Japanese as a concentration. Mulcahy fell in love with the language and now gets another chance to go abroad. 

"It will be a blessing to use the Japanese I've learned so far," Mulcahy said.  

Dr. Tomoe Nishio, associate professor of Japanese, is proud to see Mulcahy take advantage of this opportunity.

"I have witnessed Alyssa's progress in the East Asian studies program from the very beginning of her journey. I know she went through various challenges and struggles in learning the Japanese language and culture, as well as studying abroad in Japan, but she never gave up and kept going," Nishio said. "Now she is a proficient Japanese speaker with profound cultural understanding. I am proud of her achievements and cannot wait to see her build a career where she can maximally use her expertise and develop it even further, starting with the JET Program."

After her previous experience in the country, Mulcahy is grateful to go back and reconnect with old friends, including her host family. 

"I'm really excited to meet more people," she said. "The people I met there were genuine and kind and interested in cultural exchange."