Meet the Team
Meet your new Ehime AJET Team! This year, we have a powerhouse team taking on the reins. Our hope is to host more events for you all to enjoy, create a stronger sense of community, and make the vast wealth of resources more accessible. We’re each doing our best to foster a rewarding experience for the Ehime JETs (and those beyond the Mikan prefecture, too!)
We look forward to serving as your AJET board for this year!
よろしくお願いします! 🙂
President
Pengxue Vang
Event Coordinators
Miya Jia, Andrew Pappas
Sports Coordinator
Freya Gregor
Treasurer & Scholarship Chair
Bria Hemphill
Social Media & Website Coordinator
Carl Sotomil
The Mikan Blog Editor
Emily Guo
President
Pengxue Vang (Kirb, Kirbs, Kirbo)
Planet Popstar → Matsuyama (Hojo)
I was the Event Coordinator of AJET in the previous year. I decided to stay on the AJET board this year as all the other previous members were returning home.
My goal is to help keep AJET organized as well as properly conveying the AJET message. I want to make sure AJET is a place that’s comfortable for every JET in Ehime.
Also, I am Kirby.
Miya Jia (she/her)
Chicago, IL, U.S. → Matsuyama (Ehime Prefectural Office & EPIC)
As a JET who came during the height of COVID-19, I’ve felt the long periods of strict restrictions made it harder for JETs to build a sense of community. Now that things have gotten easier, I want to take this chance to plan fun events for people to come together and get to know each other more!
I hope to get to the point where we can have yearly AJET event traditions, whether by restarting old ones lost to the pandemic, or beginning all-new ones. This way, AJET can build its reputation and new JETs will know what to look forward to!
Please come to our events! We put in a lot of work to make things happen, and would love to see you all there!
Event Coordinators
Andrew Pappas (he/him)
Pittsburgh, PA, U.S. → Imabari
I was asked to join AJET by many of the previous members because they said I’d be good at it. I like planning social events so I thought I’d give it a shot.
My main goal is help people get out and socialize. This job can be very isolating and I think it’s important to be around others who share your language and culture every once in a while.
If you have any suggestions for events, please tell Miya or me, we’re always looking for new ideas.
Sports Coordinator
Freya Gregor (she/they)
London, U.K. → Ozu
I chose to be on Ehime AJET because I wanted to expand the opportunities JETs in Ehime have to engage with sport and the outdoors. To me sport is a fantastic way to meet new people, relieve stress, and try something new judgement-free.
My main goal is to ensure as many people can have a fun time with sport, although my desire is to give people the chance to do something they’ve been apprehensive to do before – whether that’s climbing Mt Ishizuchi, going canyoning, or watching one of the professional teams in Ehime – in a friendly and supportive environment!
Treasurer & Scholarship Chair
Bria Hemphill (she/her)
Central New York, U.S. → Matsuyama
I took on this role on AJET because I wanted to help raise funding for students who dream of studying abroad, despite their financial situations. Everyone deserves the opportunity to BE more!
My main goals as Treasurer and Scholarship Chair are to make money for the kids and help improve communication and sense of community for ALTs on Shikoku.
Some other things about me: Aspiring plant girlie. Casual hiker. Music human.
Welcome to Shikoku!
Social Media & Website Coordinator
Carl Sotomil
Philippines → Canada → Iyo (Nakayama)
I chose to be on AJET because the website needed some revival and the social media pages weren’t being updated, so I basically said I can add something and provide a foundation for people to work on it.
My main goal in this position on Ehime AJET is to update the website, head the Discord chat, Facebook, and Instagram pages.
The Mikan Blog Editor
Emily Guo (she/her/they)
Boston (area), U.S. → Ozu, Ehime
AJET had been on my radar since I decided to re-contract another year on JET. I wanted a way to get more involved with the community. At the same time, I wanted to find ways to make the many experiences and challenges on JET a little more tangible and accessible to that community.
There is so much knowledge and wealth that comes from making a life out here. So if possible, I’d like for the Mikan to be a place where Ehime JETs can collectively share their experiences and honest insights to the benefit of their peers, incoming Mikans, or JETs from all over.
I think the Mikan Blog is a platform where that sort of reflection and sharing can take place, and hopefully make the whole JET experience feel a little more meaningful to those who choose to read it.