Deadline now April 1 to apply for 2024 student exchange to Hekinan

Applications are open for the summer 2024 student exchange program coordinated by the Edmonds Sister City Commission and the Hekinan Sister City Association. The program offers those ages 14-18 the opportunity to experience the day-to-day life, language and traditions of Japan through the program. The deadline to apply has been extended to Monday, April 1, with priority given to the first three applications received.

While in Japan, the seven students chosen for the program will live with a Japanese family and be immersed in the Japanese culture. Weekdays are spent exploring Hekinan and the surrounding area as a group, with daily activities hosted by the Hekinan Sister City Association. Weekends are spent enjoying time with their host families. Upon their return, the Edmonds students and their families offer the same consideration to the Japanese students.

“After a four-year hiatus, we are so excited to be able to resume this amazing program. I’ve seen firsthand the growth and transformation of the students participating in this trip, and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in other cultures and people,” said current chair and past chaperone Katy Renz.

Edmonds students will travel to Hekinan July 29 through Aug. 8, 2024, and will then host Japanese students during their stay in Edmonds during the last two weeks of August. Each student’s cost for the trip will be approximately $2,000, depending on the cost of airfare.

Hekinan has been Edmonds’ Sister City since 1988 and the exchange program has been a central component of that relationship. The deadline to apply is Friday, March 15.

For an application packet, you can visit the commission’s webpage at Exchange Programs – City of Edmonds, WA, contact the mayor’s office at 425-771-0247 or email the commission at sister.city@edmondswa.gov.