JET ALUMNI ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL
Ashlie O'Neill
Country Representative (AU)
Australia
I am Ash and I was an ALT in the beautiful Hyogo Prefecture from 2013-2016. I was lucky to teach just short of 1000 students at Higashi Harima High School in Kako-gun. In fact the baseball team made it all the way to the Koshien tournament this year (2021) and as their unofficial mascot during my time there this made me incredibly excited.
During my time on the JET program I worked with prefectural and National AJET in a variety of positions including Block rep, Director of Alumni Relations and Vice-chair. As the first Director of Alumni Relations for National AJET I was able to learn about and connect with Alumni around the world and that is where my passion for JETAA and our community began.
Following my time in Japan, I returned home to Sydney where I joined JETAANSW (with some coaxing from fellow alumni). Other members of JETAANSW now represent a large chunk of my friendship groups. I have held positions in JETAANSW including Events Coordinator, President and now Vice President.
Additionally, in 2016-2018 I was elected to the position of Vice-chair for JETAA International before holding the position of Chair from 2018-2020 and now here I am as the Aussie Country Rep!
If you have not gathered from the above, I am passionate about JETAA and believe in what we do both in our local and global community. I am excited to not only represent the “Land Down Unda” for the next few years but also work hard to support the chapters and their members.
Please feel free to reach out to me at any time with questions or to say hi. Following the international travel ban, if you ever find yourself in sunny Sydney I would love to meet for a beer and to show you the sites.