Mission
Our Mission
The El Cultural Foundation is a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) company. Our main focus is to bolster the study and retention of the studied language. Starting with this Inaugural class, we are trying to create a community of El Cultural Foundation Scholars who are not only proficient in their language abilities but also plan to continue using their language after graduation. In order to help scholars keep up their spoken language, we will be having quarterly language sessions with the scholars after they return from their prospective countries.
About the Foundation
The Scholarship
皆さん、こんにちは！！
2023 will be our second scholarship round since we had to pause due to the pandemic. We will be funding students with aspirations of studying in Japan. All proceeds will go toward benefiting students in their language studies and helping them fund their experience abroad. Eighty five percent of donations will go directly to the student scholarship fund while the remaining fifteen percent will be utilized to support The El Cultural Foundation operations.
This fund will be merit based and require the student to maintain a 3.5 GPA throughout their study abroad period (quarterly grade checks will be requested). Those who are selected for the scholarship will be required to either stay with a host family or join an extracurricular activity at one of the universities chosen from the University of Arizona, University of Hawaii, or The University of Pittsburgh Study Abroad website. Proof of acceptance into the host university and a signed document of the student’s intent to attend will be required before the scholarships are disbursed. The scholarship will be dispersed in two equal payments; one at the beginning of each semester.
Students planning to study for one year in the prospective country will be given preference; however, students applying for one semester programs are also welcome to apply.
Founder
The founder, Wynton El, graduated from the University of Arizona Honors College in December of 2014 with a BA in both East Asian Studies (Japanese Culture Intensive) and Global Studies (State and Non-State Actors) with a minor in Computer Science. He studied abroad in Japan two times during his University of Arizona Career! He studied for one month during the Summer of 2012 in Nagoya, Japan and received both the Boren and Gilman Scholarship for a one year study during the 2013/2014 school year in Kobe, Japan.
“I started the El Cultural Foundation and scholarship fund to give as many students as possible the ability, as I had, to study abroad in a great country like Japan! It was not until I went to the country and stayed with a host family that I could truly embrace the culture. In addition, joining clubs and engaging in conversation with friends I made at the university helped my language knowledge increase and improve my everyday language fluency. I still keep in regular contact with my friends and host families from Japan” – Wynton El
Board of Directors
- Wynton El
- (Founder)
- Tyler Reese
- Tyler Reese graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in May 2016 with a Bachelor of Business Administration and a BA in Japanese. He studied abroad in Kobe, Japan for a year during the 2013/2014 academic school year snd stayed with a host family.
- Reynold Kajiwara
- Reynold Kajiwara graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in May of 2016 with a BA in Japanese and Second Language Studies. He studied abroad in Kobe, Japan for a year in the UHM Year-in-Japan Program during the 2013/2014 academic school year and received the JASSO Scholarship.
“Studying abroad was the best decision I made when I was pursuing my undergraduate degree in Japanese! Immersing myself in the Japanese culture drastically improved my proficiency in the language as I was able to live and communicate with native speakers through a homestay, explore and visit various regions, and learn new Japanese traditions and customs. I joined the El Cultural Foundation as I hope to help more college students have the opportunity to study abroad and experience a new culture!” - Reynold Kajiwara