Biography
I came to Willamette having already decided to major in Japanese Studies. I first considered it during my freshman year of high school, when I befriended a Japanese exchange student at my school. During a month-long study abroad program in the summer of 2017, I noticed the immense amount of respect for both people and the environment in Japanese culture. The welcoming nature of Japanese people, the subtle yet intricate complexities of their language, and their consideration for both past traditions and future progress left me questioning my own approach to life. My plan is to study abroad via the JSP program at Tokyo International University during my junior year. After graduation, I will apply to graduate school with the goal of earning a Ph.D. in either Japanese Studies or linguistics. Ultimately, I would like to be a translator and / or interpreter for Japanese environmental scientists, in order to make their research more widely accessible.