17-year-old Piper Tye recently returned from spending a month in Nagoya, central Japan, living with a host family and attending Japanese language classes thanks to the Mitsui Coal Holdings Intensive Language School Program to Japan.

Piper said being selected for the scholarship was an overwhelming feeling and revealed just how emotional she got after being given the good news.

“I cried, they called me up a few days after I’d done my interview and said ‘congratulations you’ve won it’,” she said.

“I didn’t believe it at first; I just thought ‘no way, that’s crazy’.”

Despite having been there three times previously, she said it was still an amazing thing to do, especially as part of the $7500 scholarship.

“For me it was really amazing, it gave me a chance to develop my language skills even further,” the teenager said.

“I’ve been studying Japanese now for four years and this trip enhanced it.

“Classes were only taught it Japanese, my host mother only spoke in Japanese – no English at all – so while it was a struggle, it was a great opportunity to buckle down and force myself to learn it, which was very enjoyable.

“I loved it.”

Applications are now open for two full scholarships for the Intensive Language School Program to Japan departing December 2019.

One scholarship is available to children of employees of Mitsui Coal who work at Dawson, Kestrel or Capcoal mines; the other is available to a student studying at Moura High School.

Applications close on the 1^stof July 2019.

Details can be found on the AFS website under Corporate Scholarships - https://afs.org.au/about-afs/scholarships/#afs-nav-corporate-scholarships