KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Dr. Tom Mason
Executive Director at U.S.-Japan Bridging Foundation
Talk:
"Language Learner to Global Professional: Unlock the World through Study Abroad, Secure Scholarships & Internships, and Land Your Dream Job"
Let's talk about your future! This presentation charts a course for transforming yourself from a language learner into a sought-after global professional. We will discuss ways to secure scholarships for study abroad and how to use your time abroad strategically. Internships are critical to your career development, and we will discuss how to identify and apply for both domestic and international opportunities. Lastly, we will dive into strategies to kickstart an internationally-minded career, such as exploring networking and job search strategies, gap year opportunities, and pathways for graduate studies. As a soon-to-be graduate of Cal State Fullerton, the world is yours to embrace. Ready to discover how?
Dr. Tom Mason is a social-entrepreneur and a specialist in international higher education, study abroad, and Chinese & Japanese language pedagogy. Prior to coming to the Bridging Foundation, he founded and served for eighteen years as the executive director of the ALLEX Foundation (Alliance for Language Learning and Educational Exchange), an organization dedicated to changing lives through study abroad and language study. Dr. Mason has held leadership and teaching positions at Columbia University’s Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies, Cornell University, and several institutions in Japan. He has studied at National Taiwan University on a Taiwanese government fellowship. In 2022 Dr. Mason was selected as a fellow for the Mansfield Foundation’s U.S.-Japan Network for the Future Program. He is a passionate mentor, as well as a frequent speaker, in the fields of social entrepreneurship and international education. Dr. Mason earned his B.A. and M.A. from Cornell University in Asian Studies, and his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in East Asian Languages.