Japanese High-Intensity Training Research in Colorado’s High Altitude
Posted on Friday, July 28th, 2017 at 2:51 pm.By Cecile Schoberle, Director of Marketing and Communications, University of Colorado Denver
A version of the blog was originally published on International Newsroom

Dr. Tabata and his daughter in a fitness center at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus
Dr. Tabata and his daughter in a fitness center at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus
Dr. Izumi Tabata, PhD, and “father of high-intensity interval training (HIIT)” is currently a visiting J-1 scholar at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
“If you’re seeing stars and feel as if you can’t take another step, you’re doing the exercise right—but it is all worth it.” Variations of this theme are expressed by enthusiasts of the Tabata Training method worldwide. Also dubbed “The Four-Minute Miracle”, the system incorporates high-intensity interval training workouts within short bursts of time to create maximum aerobic and anaerobic benefits. VO2 max, which is the measurement of the maximum amount of oxygen that an individual can utilize during intense exercise, increases; resting metabolic rate after the exercise and glucose metabolism are also improved. Read More ›
Categories: Program Spotlight
Au Pair Finds Herself on Route 66
Posted on Wednesday, June 7th, 2017 at 2:01 pm.By Joanne Hritz, Director of Marketing at AuPairCare
A version of this story was originally published on AuPairCare

Tamires at Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona
As if leaving her family, friends and her familiar life in Brazil to come to America as an au pair wasn’t adventurous enough, au pair Tamires also decided to take on the challenge of a solo cycling trip through Historic Route 66!

Tamires in New Mexico – Land of Enrichment
From its golden days in the 1930s, to the decline in the 1960s and the resurgence in recent years, Route 66 has always had a prominent spot in popular culture. Known also as the ‘Main Street of America,’ it was built in 1926 and was one of the original roads within the U.S. Highway system. Read More ›
Categories: Program Spotlight
Inspiring and Teaching Using Robotics
Posted on Wednesday, May 31st, 2017 at 3:09 pm.Jody Mayo, Communications Manager, Alliance Abroad Group
A version of this story was originally published on Alliance Abroad

Teacher and Robotics coach Wilmar Lee (left) with sixth grade students holding mobile robots
Wilmar Lee is a robotics fanatic and she’s passing her infectious passion to middle school students in Houston, Texas. She is a Filipino citizen participating in a J-1 visa teacher exchange program. Back home, on the other side of the world, Wilmar taught math, computer and MAPEH (Music, Art, PE, & Health) classes for 12 years. She was also an innovator and proponent of using robotics as a way to engage students and promote science, technology, engineering, and math studies.
Categories: Program Spotlight
J-1 Volunteers Get Inspired by the 2015 NYC Marathon Experience
Posted on Thursday, November 5th, 2015 at 4:07 pm.
J-1 Exchange Visitors hand out water to runners during the NYC Marathon
Who needs water? During last Sunday’s grueling New York City Marathon almost EVERYONE needed water, and – especially between mile markers 17 and 22 – there was a good chance the smiling person with the extended hand offering water and Gatorade was a J-1 Exchange Visitor. Read More ›
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight
#RouteJ1 Participants Stepping Up to Support the NYC Marathon
Posted on Friday, October 30th, 2015 at 3:38 pm.While everyone in New York at this time of year shares the sweet anticipation of the upcoming Halloween festivities, for more than 50,000 runners from 135 countries it also means gearing up for a different kind of sweet treat: the proud accomplishment of completing the NYC Marathon. Among the 10,000 volunteers helping out at the world’s largest marathon on Sunday, you will find more than 850 of our J-1 participants. Experiencing the American tradition of volunteerism first hand, they will distribute water, cheer on athletes from their home countries, and share their cultures with their fellow volunteers and the runners.
Remarks by Miriam Vadria from Pakistan, J-1 masters degree student at Columbia University
[Interviewer] What are you excited for?
[Miriam] I am extremely excited about being at the New York City Marathon on Sunday, the 1st of November. Hi, I’m Miriam Vadria from Karachi,
Pakistan. I got a J-1 Visa because of a Fulbright Scholarship from Pakistan. And I’m doing a MBA degree here from SIPA at Columbia. I’ll be
volunteering at the New York City Marathon the first of November. I’ll be at fluid mile station 16. And I’ll be handing out water to all the runners
who are going to be doing hard work! And I specifically want to wish Hamna Zubair very good luck who is running for the cause of education in Pakistan.
[upbeat background music]
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight
J-1 Participants Gain Cutting Edge Experience in Silicon Valley
Posted on Thursday, October 22nd, 2015 at 4:21 pm.Young people always dream about what they will be when they grow up. Will they bring about world peace? Will they end poverty? Will they win an Oscar for their moving documentary? Will they invent the next big thing that radically changes technology? Here in the J-1 world, we jump out of our seats and cheer each time the J-1 internship program brings those young dreamers closer to their life-changing goals. It is a noisy place around here.
I took Route J-1 to California’s Silicon Valley recently, where the world’s most innovative tech companies are hosting J-1 interns and turning dreams into action. I sat down with up-and-coming tech whizzes from all over the world at Cisco and Facebook. Through these J-1 programs, international students supply the dreams while their hosts teach them to turn their big ideas into programs and tools.

DAS Lerner meets with J-1 Interns at CISCO.
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight
A Few Things to Know About Our J-1 Visa Exchange Visitor Program
Posted on Friday, October 9th, 2015 at 9:20 am.
J-1 exchange visitors jump for joy in the Nation’s capital
This week, I wrote a State Department blog outlining a few things you should know about the J-1 Visa program, in hope of reaching a larger audience. While the program is well known abroad and to the readers of Route J-1, many Americans are unaware of the amazing work being done by J-1 participants. Read More ›
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight
J-1 Exchange Visitor Program in the Outer Banks
Posted on Thursday, October 1st, 2015 at 6:37 pm.Autumn begins this week, and with the change in seasons we have closed out our concentrated summer monitoring and travel for 2015. Route J-1 will continue, of course, so keep checking in. Read More ›
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight
Building Bridges with Cuba
Posted on Thursday, September 17th, 2015 at 7:46 pm.
Sitting on a panel during the “Building Bridges: Strengthening Educational & Citizen Exchange Linkages” symposium
Last week we held a symposium at George Washington University, here in Washington, D.C. on “Building Bridges: Strengthening Educational & Citizen Exchange Linkages,” following the opening of official diplomatic relations with Cuba. The idea was to bring together those who work with exchange programs to discuss our new U.S. approach on engaging people-to-people with Cuba – of which J-1 plays an integral role. Read More ›
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants
Take Me Out to the Ballgame: J-1 Participants Experience America’s Pastime at Nationals Park
Posted on Monday, August 31st, 2015 at 4:30 pm.
J-1 exchange visitors pose with George Washington – one of the Running Presidents at Nats Park. (Photo credits to Kevin Morgan)
Recently, my colleagues Ethan Bursofsky and Julia Saltzman joined more than 200 J-1 lifeguards, their sponsor, and host employer representatives at a Washington Nationals game to experience a great American pastime: baseball.
Read More ›
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight
| About Rebecca Pasini Deputy Assistant Secretary for Private Sector Exchange | |
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Rebecca A. Pasini joined the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Private Sector Exchanges in July 2023. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister - Counselor, Ms. Pasini has been an American diplomat since 1997.
Ms. Pasini previously served as the Director of Public and Congressional Affairs in the Bureau of Consular Affairs from 2021-2023. Other Washington assignments have included positions in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, the Office of Foreign Missions, and as a liaison to the Department of Homeland Security. She has also completed multiple overseas tours, including as Minister Counselor for Consular Affairs in Islamabad, Pakistan, and as the Consular Chief in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Belfast, Northern Ireland. Other tours included Mexico City and Kuwait.
A Maryland native, Ms. Pasini has a Ph.D. in Political Science from Indiana University, a master’s degree in National Security and Resource Strategy from the Eisenhower School, National Defense University, and an undergraduate degree from Mary Washington College.
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