This October, ninth-grade students again will represent the Sequim community in an exchange program to its Sister City of Shiso, Japan.

The education and cultural exchange program is coordinated by the Sequim-Shiso Sister City Association, a committee of the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Interested eighth-grade students need to apply now if they are interested in becoming a student ambassador this fall.

Coordinators have scheduled a pre-trip planning meeting for 7 p.m. Thursday, May 12, in the Sequim Middle School Library. Interested eighth-grade students and at least one parent or guardian need to attend the meeting.

Students must demonstrate they would value this opportunity and want to go to Japan to learn more about its culture and to represent Sequim as a Sister City Student Ambassador. Trip coordinators and chaperones will select up to 10 students from those who apply, show the greatest interest and are in good standing in both grades and behavior at school. Students will need to keep up with their studies in their high school classes.

During the 10-day trip, the Sequim delegation of students and adults will spend four full days in Shiso with host families. They also will travel to Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara and Himeji, visiting historical and world-class heritage sites, temples, museums and centers, traveling by plane, bullet train, bus, taxi and subway.

The students and chaperones will travel to Japan two to three weeks following a visit by ninth-grade Shiso students to Sequim in September … a true exchange. Coordinator Annette Hanson, who has gone herself to Japan on this exchange, says, “It is truly a trip of a lifetime.”

Interested students and parents need to send an email to annette_hanson@msn.com or call 670-6774 for more information about the next steps in the application process.