Bridge to Asia started at Cambridge High School in Milton, Georgia in the Spring of 2023. Bridge to Asia was born of the desire to offer high school students the opportunity to learn about and explore a region of the world that is at once ancient and modern, traditional and dynamic, serene and exciting. Every year, tens of thousands of American high school students travel abroad. Most will be destined for Caribbean, European, or Latin American destinations. We encourage students to consider another option - East Asia.
Our approach is to combine scholastic study with cultural immersion andexperiential learning to produce an educational adventure. To accomplish this, we synergize our World Studies Course, our biannual student exchange program with Yamate High School, our biannual travel abroad excursions, and our Bridge to Asia Club activities to create a hollistic learning experience. It is our hope that this program will instill in students a life-long appetite for both knowledge and travel.
EXPLORE ASIA WITH US!
One of the center pieces of Bridge to Asia is our homestay exchange program with Yamate-Gakuin High School in Yokohama, Japan. Cambridge High School is proud to be the first school in Georgia selected for this program, and our inaugural exchange will occur in 2025!
In the aftermath of World War II, the founders of Yamate-Gakuin High School in Yokohama created an exchange program designed to give Japanese students an opportunity to come to the United States and American students a chance to visit Japan in return. They believed that this experience would give students from both countries a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as well as contribute to global peace and understanding.
Over sixty years later, the Yamate-Gakuin Student Exchange has grown to include schools in several US states as well as mutliple provinces in Canada. Cambridge High School in Milton, Georgia is proud to be the first in Georgia - and indeed in the Southeastern US - to participate in the Yamate-Gakuin Exchange Program.
In April 2025, between 35-40 Japanese high school juniors will be placed with host families in our Milton/Alpharetta community for a two-week homestay. Then, in July, 18-20 of our students will be placed with Japanese families for a two-week return stay in Yokohama. During these stays, each group will be given a chance to experience education and culture in the others' country.
World Studies 45.09200 is a Georgia Department of Education approved course that examines a specific region of region of the world, focusing on an investigation of the geographic, historic, cultural, economic, and political development of that region.
Our version of World Studies focuses on the geography, history, culture, economics, and politics of East Asia, including mainly China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan; but also Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The guiding text for the course is History of East Asia: A Captivating Guide to the History of China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. But, there will be numerous supplemntal readings. In addition, students will be exposed to the food and culture of each studied country. For years in which we do not have student exchange, students in World Studies will also help plan travel itineraries for summer travel abroad.
EXPLORE ASIA WITH US!
Bridge to Asia is proud to partner with The Dragon Trip to craft educational travel abroad programs for our Cambridge High School students. Our goal is to offer experiences that feel like adventures that help to instill a lifelong curiosity and love of travel in our students.
Travel abroad opportunities will begin in the Summer of 2026. We have selected South Korea as our first destination. Our plans include visiting Seoul, the DMZ, Gyeongju, Golgulsa, Busan, and Jeju.
Bridge to Asia travel opportunities will be offered on an alternating year basis, so as not to interfere with our Japan homestay exchange program. As our program grows, this may change. Other planned possible destinations include Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand.
EXPLORE ASIA WITH US!
Michael Shea, PhD
Dr. Shea is the director and co-creator of the Bridge to Asia program and has a PhD in Political Science. He teaches AP US Government and AP Comparative Government at Cambridge High School in Fulton County, but he has also taught both US History and World History. Dr. Shea came to Cambridge High School in 2021 from Oxford College of Emory and Georgia State University.
Dr. Shea has studied, traveled, and/or worked in Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cuba, England, France, Germany, Haiti, India, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Montenegro, The Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Taiwan, and Vatican City.
Dr. Shea says, "Only when we leave our homes and experience other places can we truly appreciate the wonders of the world and how lucky we really are."
Jeremy Fulk
Mr. Fulk is co-creator of the Bridge to Asia program and is a social studies teacher at Cambridge High School in Fulton County. He has studied in Ecuador, including The Galápagos, and as a Marine he was stationed in Japan and traveled to South Korea and Wake Island. Whenever possible, Mr. Fulk likes to include his family in his adventures because it enriches his experience and he has traveled with them across the US, driving and camping cross-country four times.
Mr. Fulk says, "I don’t always travel, but when I do I prefer adventure."
Emily Gibson
Ms. Gibson is a co-creator of the Bridge to Asia program and has a MA in East Asian Studies and teaches AP US Government as well as World History at Cambridge High School in Fulton County. She has studied Political Science abroad at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea.
Ms. Gibson's travel philosophy is to take the road less traveled. This philosophy has led Ms. Gibson to visiting places like the DMZ in South Korea.
Sarah Rhodes
Ms. Rhodes is a Social Studies Teacher at Cambridge High School in Fulton County and will be a chaparone for the Bridge to Asia program's innaugural Japanese homestay exchange. She teaches AP Psychology and Psychology, and has also taught World History, U. S. History, and American Government. She has traveled to England, Ireland, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Italy, Vatican City, Germany, Belgium, and France.
Ms. Rhodes believes that through traveling we gain more understanding of ourselves and our capabilities while also gaining a deeper understanding and appreciation of others.
"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page." – Augustine of Hippo
Julie R. Williams
Mrs. Williams has been teaching high school mathematics for 34 years and is currently a teacher at Milton High School in Fulton County. She comes to Georgia from Garrett, Indiana where she helped set up an exchange program between Yamate-Gakuin High School and Garrett High School. Mrs. Williams has been to Japan six times, three with the Yamate-Gakuin exchange.
Mrs. Williams has been instrumental in helping us here at Cambridge High School and Bridge to Asia to set up or own exchange program with Yamate-Gakuin.
In addition to Japan, Mrs. Williams travels have taken her to Italy, France, Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Egypt, Thailand, India, Nepal, the U.A.E., Spain, and the Dominican Republic.
Mrs. Williams says, "A good way to bring unique joy into your own life is to experience it in another culture ... noticing the similarities and differences and finding joy in the smallest things."
Gallery
Here you can see some of our promotional posters as well as photos and videos from our events, exchanges, and travels.
