Avalon High School senior Michelle Rufino, 17, will visit Japan next month as a goodwill ambassador representing the City of Long Beach. She will be one of three individuals selected for the trip. “Long Beach has shared a sister-city program with Yokkaichi, Japan for 50 years,” said Lynda Muenzer, who was Michelle’s computer teacher.
“Every other year Long Beach sends two students and a Long Beach teacher for three to four weeks to embrace Japanese culture and friendship,” Muenzer said.
Avalon High School senior Michelle Rufino, 17, will visit Japan next month as a goodwill ambassador representing the City of Long Beach. She will be one of three individuals selected for the trip. “Long Beach has shared a sister-city program with Yokkaichi, Japan for 50 years,” said Lynda Muenzer, who was Michelle’s computer teacher.
“Every other year Long Beach sends two students and a Long Beach teacher for three to four weeks to embrace Japanese culture and friendship,” Muenzer said.
Michelle said she was the only applicant from Avalon High.
She said that all the other student applicants were from Long Beach Polytechnic High School.
Michelle will travel to Avalon’s sister city on July 22 with Long Beach student Sebastiaan (sic) Dlon (sic), who Michelle says is about 15, and Joseph Aihara, a basketball coach at California State University, Long Beach.
Michelle said she would be in Japan for about 20 days, studying the language and the culture as well as experiencing the country.
Michelle’s trip is the realization of a long-held dream.
She said she been drawn to visit Japan since she was 10 or 11 years old.
Michelle said it was Muenzer who helped her the most in her effort to go to Yokkaichi, Japan.
“When I first met her four years ago as a student in my computer class I realized the genuine interest Michelle had in Japan so I suggested she apply for the Trio Program which I had been a part of in 2003,” Muenzer said.
According to www.longbeach-yokkaichi.org, applicants to the Long Beach Trio Exchange Program must be either Long Beach residents or students in the Long Beach Unified School District, which includes Avalon. “This year when she applied I wasn’t sure she would be selected because she was graduating and no one from Catalina had ever applied before. I am thrilled that she was selected from many other applicants,” Muenzer said.
