The Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET) is the only initiative of its kind managed by the Japanese government. The competitive award program funds American scholars who represent the U.S. as language teachers and cultural ambassadors in Japanese schools.
Nebraska Wesleyan University has a strong history of supporting students as they successfully pursue JET scholarships. That track record continues in 2025 with three new scholarship winners: Bailey Klanderud, Mason Philbrick and David Spencer.
Spencer is a 2024 international studies graduate who has studied Japanese since his first year of high school. He credited Professor Emerita of Japanese Yuko Yamada for strengthening his oral comprehension and fluency at NWU. He spent his junior year further sharpening those skills at NWU’s sister school, Kwansei Gakuin University, in Nishinomiya, Japan.
“When I finished my degree, I knew I wanted to get back to Japan as soon as possible,” Spencer said. “With fantastic help from Prof. Steven Wills—a JET alumnus himself—I was lucky to be selected for early departure.”
He credited his KGU and JET experiences for deepening his fluency. “There’s nothing better for language learning than immersion,” Spencer said. “Being forced to use the target language in settings where no one understands English really helps.”