Student ambassadors chosen for Shiso City exchange

Published 4:30 am Wednesday, August 5, 2026

Sequim’s first student ambassadors in several years have been chosen to travel to Japan in the summer of 2027 as part of the Sequim-Shiso City Sister City Association Exchange Program.

The teens include a group of freshmen and a sophomore: Harper Hilliker-McCloskey, a ninth grader at Dungeness Virtual School; Sahara Jimmy, a ninth grader at Sequim High School; Stone McClurken, a ninth grader at SHS; Susie Updike, a ninth grader at SHS, and Terra Stratford, a 10th grader at SHS.

Announcements of the group were made last month, including at the July 20 Sequim School District board of directors meeting.

“It’s great to get back into it and give our kids this opportunity,” said Sequim school board member Maren Halvorsen.

The students will travel to Japan in July 2027 for 10 days to correspond with the schools’ summer vacation. They’ll serve as representatives of Sequim in Shiso City, Sequim’s sister city since 1993.

Shiso City students will visit Sequim in 2028.

In January of this year, the two cities held an online exchange to rekindle the partnership where representatives shared games, videos and stories.

More than 120 Sequim students, typically freshmen-aged, went to Japan as student ambassadors from 1994-2019 to learn about Japan’s culture, education, family life, and more while living with host families.

COVID-19 put the program on pause until October 2025 when Shiso City had Deputy Mayor Kenji Tomita and Satoshi Ishihara visited Sequim to discuss restarting the exchange.

They and the Sequim-Shiso Sister City Association agreed to start with the online meeting.

Tomita said in an interview the partnership means a lot to Shiso City’s residents.

“It’s really important that the friendship continues to be strengthened between us and that we really appreciate the friendship,” he said.

Jim Stoffer with the Shiso City-Sequim Sister City Association told the Sequim school board that they are in ongoing discussions with Shiso City delegates about trip logistics, such as staying with host families or in hotels.

“There are a lot of conversations going back and forth,” he said. “We hope to see that those students can stay with the families.”

Stratford told the school board that she learned about the trip from her mom and she was interested because she wanted to learn about things and environments, and she has a particular interest in architecture.

How to help

Over the next year, students will be fundraising for the trip.

Organizers estimate costs and airfare to be about $4,000-$5,000 per person. For the trip, they’ll also need two chaperones with one, Susan Sino-Slate, already chosen, and another being discussed.

Stoffer said in an interview that fundraising is ongoing. It is being brainstormed and led by students.

Scholarships are available to support students to pay for different elements, such as the T-shirts the students wear to and from the airport.

Sequim’s student ambassadors will be at the Sequim Farmers and Artisans Market at the Sequim Civic Center Plaza on Aug. 22 and Oct. 24.

They’ll also participate in a training session on Aug. 29.

Students will learn about etiquette, the culture, and a few key elements about the sister city and Japan before going, Stoffer said.

For more information about the Sequim-Shiso Sister City Association, call Stoffer at 360-775-9356, email to sequimsistercityassn@gmail.com, or visit sequimwa.gov/239/Sister-City.

About the program

Sequim became a sister city with the City of Yamasaki, Japan, on June 5, 1993. It was reaffirmed on April 1, 2005 when Yamasaki and three other towns became Shiso City.

Former mayor of Yamasaki Junzo Yasui offered to help fund a garden in Sequim for 10 years, which went on to be named the Sequim-Shiso Friendship Garden in Carrie Blake Community Park.

City of Sequim parks staff and volunteers work weekly from April to October on its upkeep.

The Sequim-Shiso City Sister City Association meets at 1:30 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month in the Sequim Civic Center’s Burkett Community Room, 152 W. Cedar St.