Japanese American
Citizens League
San Mateo Chapter
San Mateo JACL
Education & Scholarships
High School Junior Internship Program
Selected students would be required to volunteer 20 hours of service from April 15, 2024 to October 15, 2024.
Service opportunities would be selected by the San Mateo JACL Board of Directors. Service may be virtual or in person
depending on state and county COVID 19 restrictions.
Opportunities might include:
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helping at San Mateo Japanese American Community Center with programs or activities,
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helping SM JACL with Youth Programs, working on Asian Pacific American Heritage Events in May, or
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helping with the SM JACL Booths at the Millbrae Japanese Cultural Festival in October.
Upon successful fulfillment of their Internship students will receive a $300.00 stipend to use for school expenses such as college application fees.
Additionally, selected students would be given top priority if they applied for our High School Senior Scholarship.
The terms of the internship would require:
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Applicants must be Juniors enrolled in a San Mateo County public or private high school.
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Eligible students must submit a fully completed application.
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One letter of recommendation.
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An interview with JACL Internship committee members is part of the application process.
Applications must be emailed no later than March 24, 2024 and mailed to: jaclsanmateo@gmail.com
If you have any questions please feel free to text me at (408) 472-6715.
Education
The San Mateo JACL is offering to provide copies of the 4th edition of the curriculum and resource guide entitled "A Lesson in American History: The Japanese American Experience". The guide provides teachers with historically correct background information, resources, reproducible visuals and source documents, and lesson plans for all grade levels.
Our goal in providing this resource for San Mateo County schools is to offer accurate information for teaching the significance of the "Day of Remembrance" and the history of Japanese Americans. The curriculum guide provides all teachers with materials to teach Japanese American history during World War II as outlined in the California History/Social Studies standards. It is our hope that the material on the Japanese American experience will impact classroom discussions of current events, such as the INS special registration policies. The San Mateo JACL and other civil rights organizations are working to prevent the repetition of past injustices.
If you would like additional copies of the curriculum guide, more information about the San Mateo JACL, or a speaker for your class, please leave a message at (650) 593-7358.
JACL Scholarship Program
The San Mateo Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) is pleased to announce our scholarship program for the 2025-2026 school year. Eligible high school seniors are invited to submit applications via email to jaclsanmateo@gmail.com by March 31, 2025. San Mateo Chapter scholarship recipients will be announced in April. Please note that the National JACL has a separate scholarship program which can be found on their website jacl.org/membership/.
Eligibility Requirements:
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Every applicant must be a member of the National Japanese American Citizens League (JACL). To join the JACL, please visit https://jacl.org/member/. JACL membership is open to everyone of any ethnic background. Note: applicants must hold an Individual or Student/Youth Membership. The cost of membership is $30 and there are many benefits to membership. Joining at the time of the application submission meets our eligibility requirements.
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Applicants must be seniors enrolled in a San Mateo County public or private high school.
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Applicants will be partially judged on their involvement in the Japanese-American / Asian American community.
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Applicants must be planning to attend a college, university, trade school, business school or any other institution of higher learning within the United States.
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Application Requirements:
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San Mateo Chapter JACL Scholarship Application, available on our website: www.sanmateojacl.org
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A Letter of Recommendation
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Official high school transcript
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Personal Statement (no more than two pages on the topic question)
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Complete applications must be emailed no later than March 31, 2025 to jaclsanmateo@gmail.com. An interview with the San Mateo JACL scholarship committee members will be requested for finalists.
Thank you for informing your students about our scholarship program. For more information, please feel free to email me at jaclsanmateo@gmail.com.