Interacting with people from diverse backgrounds and ages led me to self-discovery

The reason for choosing Sophia University was its global learning environment where I could specialize in International Relations and International Economics with a diverse group of peers including exchange students. My participation in an extracurricular activity called the Nikkei STOCK League in high school inspired my interest in learning about ways in which environmental conservation and economic activity go together. I wanted to learn about the measures and approaches needed to protect the environment in international politics, trade, and other business settings from the perspective of international relations theory.

For me, Sophia, especially the Faculty of Global Studies, was very appealing, as I hoped to learn shared topics in the field of environment, global issues, and economics, in a liberal setting while putting my English skill set to good use.

Being from neighboring Saitama Prefecture, it was not that difficult to travel to Tokyo, and I thought Tokyo was more accessible than people from other areas. Still, the two aspects of Tokyo that I find appealing while actually living in the city are its easy access to all sorts of facilities and the fact that it is truly diverse in terms of people from all walks of life and backgrounds being here. In particular, the Yotsuya Campus’s location, literally in the heart of Tokyo, with easy access to major districts of Tokyo such as Marunouchi and Shinjuku is one of the advantages.

Living in Tokyo, being surrounded by a great diversity of people, not only local or foreign students but also tourists and business professionals from overseas as well, I often question myself about what I have always considered “the norm” all my life. In addition, there are many occasions for me to wonder about “What is it that really matters to me?” or ” What makes me unique or different from others?”  Being here in Tokyo is also about self-discovery for sure.

Be independent and get your friends involved, then anything is possible here

From the time I was accepted to Sophia, I knew I wanted to live in the Arrupe International Residence. This residence is home to many students from Japan and also exchange students from all over the world. The residents are different in age or where they are from, literally. I think this is definitely one of the biggest charms of our dormitory, as it offers so many opportunities for multicultural exchange and the chance to communicate in English. In fact, from the first day at the residence, English must be used to communicate. I remember being very excited about how often I got to speak in English as I started living here.

My unit consists of six students, including four exchange students, two from the U.S. and other two from Thailand and Brazil. The most immediate learning experience living with international students is about food. Each unit in the residence has its own kitchen, so many of us cook every day. You can learn about the foods that are eaten daily in each country and region and how they are eaten, and this creates cultural exchange through food.

When an exchange student from Spain came to our unit, he made a tomato soup called gazpacho. I had never tried this dish before, but I still remember how delicious it was. I was pleased to know that it was a home-style dish similar to miso soup in Japan, a simple chilled soup that is often eaten in Spain, known for its hot weather.

The Aruppe Residence offers an environment where you can take your own initiative to challenge whatever you choose to do. I have worked on collecting plastic bottle caps to reduce the amount of plastic waste as my environmental conservation efforts. Since our residence encourages residents to learn from each other through their day-to-day lives, I saw it as an opportunity to address an environmental issue that I care about. The environment here allows us to achieve our own goals while getting support from friends.

One of the challenging aspects of living in the dormitories was to manage the diverse values and opinions of the residents, each with different backgrounds. While it is obvious that the views and ideas of the residents vary from one person to another, it is often challenging to try to make everyone see eye to eye on matters. That is why I realized how important it is to maintain close communication, to try to bridge the differences between one another, and to find a solution that is mutually acceptable while respecting the opinions of another. The communication skills acquired through such experiences became my major asset, I believe.

My experience in the residence has been useful for my studies at the university as well. When I have discussions in class, because we have different opinions, it leads me to deepen my own ideas by making an effort to learn about the background and thoughts of others. Conversely, I have many opportunities to leverage what I learned at the university and the experiences I gained through discussions for environmental conservation projects at the dormitory. I realized that my experiences at the residence and my studies at the university are organically connected.

Pursuing a career that balances the environment and the economy to contribute to society

Currently, in my senior year, I am learning about environmental policies involving the trade of greenhouse gasses, such as CO2, between nations. I am studying with an interest in how a balance between the economy and the environment can be achieved as well as in this regard how nations can cooperate.

Through my undergraduate studies and projects carried out in the residence, I learned that European countries are one step ahead of us not only in balancing the environment and the economy but also in trailblazing efforts to advance the environment as a top priority. For that reason, in the future I would like to pursue a career in which I can contribute to environmental conservation, my field of study, and to achieving a good balance between the environment and the economy. While the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been getting great attention in recent years it seems that the number of companies that are focusing on environmental initiatives is increasing. I intend to exert myself in companies and organizations that can revitalize business and contribute to the environment at the same time.

I would also like to eventually get involved in supporting the children of my hometown. My experience in Tokyo and at the Residence as well as the teamwork and communication skills I acquired through my studies at the University and interactions with my friends and peers are invaluable. As I am about to graduate, I sincerely hope that if I can be of help to someone, not only in terms of my job or career but also in various aspects of life, I would like to make the best use of my abilities in a wide array of fields.

*Please note that the content of this article is current as of July 2023.