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ODESSA, Texas — There is a lot students can do to try and better their college application résumé, and for one Odessa student, he’ll be studying abroad to do that all thanks to earning a unique scholarship.
Jovian Arredondo is a junior at Montessori Mastery School of Odessa, and he will be headed to Japan in March in the AFS-USA program as the only student getting the education on scholarship money.
“It’s really special,” Jovian said. “I remember I was in class and I jumped up and down whenever I saw the email that I got the scholarship, it was just exciting.”
Jovian is a native Odessan now preparing to head west across the Pacific Ocean.
“I think it’s an amazing opportunity to study abroad while you’re young — you have less responsibilities rather than studying abroad in college,” Jovian said. “I do plan on studying abroad in college but studying abroad while I’m younger and still in high school, it will give me a chance to use my freedom still as a kid.”
Jovian earned the only available Yoshi Hattori Memorial Scholarship through AFS-USA, and his parents Christina and Jesse spoke on the honor.
“He applied, he looked it up, he researched it, he wrote the essays,” Christina Arredondo said. “So, I think it’s a huge sense of accomplishment for him.”
“This is really, really amazing the opportunity he got and for him to do everything he needed to do to get accepted and to get it all done,” Jesse Arredondo said. “This kid – whenever he has a little dream — he always makes it come true. So, it’s exciting, it’s real exciting.”
Christina Arredondo said Jovian is not just studying aboard on behalf of his family.
“He’s going to represent not just the family that’s honoring their son, he’s going to represent AFS as a whole, he’s going to represent Odessa, he’s going to represent his high school, he’s going to represent so many people,” Christina Arredondo said. “Excitement doesn’t even touch the tip of what I’m feeling, but I am very excited – not just for the opportunity but for what’s to come in his future.”
Jovian also knows it’s a great opportunity for his future — one that is somewhat out of this world.
“I want to major in astronomy or astrophysics, so it will be nice if i can get into astronomy/astrophysics while I’m down there in Japan – it will be nice to apply for internships having that on my record,” Jovian said.
Christina Arredondo added Jovian will be getting his associate’s degree from Odessa College later in the spring of 2025 while he’s in Japan.
Jovian will spend almost a year in the Japan High School Year program before coming back to graduate from high school in Odessa in May of 2026.
