Sophia’s location, minutes away from the Supreme Court or the National Assembly and its learning environment in which to expand your horizon is attractive.

The reason for choosing Sophia University was that I was intrigued by its learning environment, which facilitates students to attend courses in other faculties. I was also interested in Sophia’s unique global learning environment, offering a wide range of language courses and study abroad programs. The campus where all faculties are in one place is also very unique to Sophia and it enables learning outside of one’s own interest. I truly enjoy this environment which allows me not only to learn what I am keen on but to expand my interest.

Because I had attended a high school in Hiroshima Prefecture in western Japan, I mainly gathered information about universities on websites and brochures. But once I had an opportunity to visit an open campus for prospective students. On that day, I thought “Since I have come all this way, I should talk to as many Sophia students.” So I actively interacted. Initially, I was a little put off by their styles and glamor, but once we actually talked, I found everyone cheerful, and easy to talk to. My visit was filled with wonderful memories.

The location in the center of Tokyo with easy access is also one of Sophia’s key advantages. When I first came to Yotsuya, I was amazed that the university was literally right in front of the station. The Supreme Court, the National Assembly, and the National Diet Library are also within walking distance, which is very attractive to me as a law student. It is rare for a university to be surrounded by these facilities, even in Tokyo. I remember when I walked past the Supreme Court with a friend, being excited about the fact this was exactly where many famous precedents were issued. Sophia also has great access to cultural facilities such as theaters and museums, and also to the major areas in Tokyo such as Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Marunouchi.

Experiences only offered in an international dormitory with diverse values

My expectations, full of learning and inspiration from residents with multicultural backgrounds and different age groups led me to my decision to live in the international dormitory. But also I felt a little anxious about living in the dormitory with students born and raised in all sorts of environments. Having a different background means owning different values. Even when I look back, it is certain that my life in the international dormitory played a big part in improving my communication skills as well as knowing how to reach mutual understanding.

As a leader of a dormitory living group called LGL, I have been involved in the management of the dormitory and experienced multiple challenges caused by the life patterns of each resident, such as being a morning or night person, or dealing with their stress from job-hunting activities and so on. Since I moved in during the Corona outbreak, the bonds between dorm residents were particularly tenuous. There were limited opportunities to seek tips from my seniors on dorm life, or what sort of facilities are available in the neighborhood. At that time, wondering how we could make our communal living joyful and stress-free, I made a conscious effort to have as many meetings and discussions and tried to maintain close contact with our fellow residents.​​​​ ​​

Not only the residents in the International Dormitory but many people at Sophia are able to speak English and other foreign languages so worldwide languages can be heard on the campus. I was a bit shocked when I first joined Sophia because its environment was quite different from my hometown, Hiroshima. In addition to having strong language skills, I feel that students and professors at Sophia make an extra effort to learn about people with different backgrounds, including their respective cultures. I feel that through interacting with those people at the university and in my dormitory, I have gained a flexible and open mindset towards the world.

Hoping to use my problem-solving approach in collaboration with others to bring solutions to social issues on a global scale

In the Faculty of Law, I am studying nuclear weapons and disarmament as themes in my international law seminar. Outside of undergraduate studies, I take advantage of a program offered by the Center for Language Education and Research to speak with a native English speaker once a week. Sophia offers many courses that are taught in English, so I made a conscious effort to attend these courses to put myself in an environment where I could learn, discuss, and write in English.

Sophia also holds an annual event called “Sophia Africa Weeks” to promote understanding about Africa. Volunteer students participate in this event as staff and this year, I served as a student team leader. Since joining the university, I have been attending a course called “Learning from Africa” to improve my understanding of African politics, economics, and its culture. It led me to be proactively involved in this event as the highlight of my college life.

First of all, we set the target audience of the event to be people who are totally unfamiliar with Africa. Then we asked ourselves, what do we need to do in order to attract those people and ensure they enjoy learning about Africa? With the help of students and faculty members from the African region, we put great effort into planning the project. If in the past, perhaps I would have focused only on targeting those who were interested in Africa. However, I decided not to do so because with my experience at Sophia, in order to understand others, I came to value seeing the matter with a point of view outside of my own. This summer, since the Corona Crisis has finally come to an end, I will be spending two weeks in Africa with a university program. I truly look forward to this visit as I have longed for this to happen.

Throughout the Africa Weeks and Learning from Africa classes I had opportunities to interact with many people from Japan and overseas, including people from international organizations, NGOs, and other private sectors. It is clear to me now that there are many issues that cannot be resolved by a single institution or organization. And I now wish to engage in cross-cutting activities involving various fields to contribute to solving global issues that Japan and other international communities are facing. I intend to make every effort to pursue a career that will allow me to be closely involved in resolving these issues from a business side as well.

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