David L. Boren Awards for International Study

Boren Fellow, Japan

Brandon Marc Higa, a 2005 graduate from the University of Southern California, received a Boren Fellowship to study Japanese with Stanford University’s advanced intensive Japanese language program in Yokohama, Japan. During the first half of the year-long program, Brandon Marc took an intensive Japanese course focused on improving his language skills for competency in social and academic situations. The second half of the program centered on learning specialized Japanese for his major, international relations. With his specialized language skills, Brandon Marc completed a report about Japan’s free trade agreement policies.

In order to fulfill his service requirement, Brandon Marc applied to an internship at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. He was accepted as the first graduate intern for the Foreign Affairs Section in Tokyo, and covered policy and marketing in his work. As part of his duties, he published an unclassified report on Japan’s food security initiatives.

After completing his three month internship at the Embassy, Brandon Marc went on to pursue a position at the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. He is currently an alumni coordinator for State Department exchange alumni who have participated in programs including the Fulbright Scholarship, the Critical Language Scholarship, and the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship. He works with alumni from East Asia and the Pacific, and South and Central Asia. His job requirements also include updating the State Alumni website, which is a professional social networking website for exchange alumni of State Department programs, and working with the Fulbright Foundation to conduct outreach to Fulbright alumni.

Brandon Marc is also the fundraising co-chair of the steering committee for the Boren Forum (the Boren Award alumni association). He volunteers on behalf of other Boren Awards alumni and frequently posts jobs to the Boren Forum website.