Grove Farm Scholar

What motto best describes your outlook on life?

Actions speak louder than words.

What has being awarded the Grove Farm Scholarship meant to you?

Being awarded the Grove Farm Scholarship has meant the world to me. It’s allowed me to focus on my studies rather than stressing over day-to-day purchases like textbooks and supplies. It’s also a great reminded that no matter how different the culture on the East Coast is, I can still do community service and feel at home no matter where I am.

What have you learned about yourself while you’ve been away?

I’ve only been at school for two months now, but it feels like much longer. I’ve learned a lot about myself in this short amount of time - for example, that I am really not prepared for a Boston winter. I’ve also learned that with two roommates that butt heads over many issues, I have the capability to be a mediator when the need arises. I’ve learned that my excellent power napping is a skill I undervalued in high school, and that I need exactly 3 cups of coffee to make it through my 8 am classes. I learned that exercising is much more important to me than I thought it was, and that running on the path next to the Charles river is my new favorite kind of recreation. Mostly, I’ve learned that I have a whole lot more to learn throughout the next 4 years, and that I’m excited for every new discovery.

What drives you?

Sometimes when I’m feeling down, I remember how lucky I am to be a student in the United States attending a private university. I think about the fact that my ancestors came from Japan to work on sugar cane fields and how many more opportunities I’ve been blessed with. I think about the millions of other girls that are my age, who are just as smart and probably more exciting than I am, that live in places where they just don’t have the same opportunities that I do. I think about the people who are voiceless before courts and governments that don’t want to listen to them - and how maybe someday I’ll have the skill set to help them. What drives me to study International Relations and, eventually, Law, is the thought that because I’ve been so lucky, my goal is to be able to lend my voice to help them and their children attain the kind of opportunities I’ve been blessed with.

What gives you hope for the future?

So many things give me hope for the future. Little acts of kindness and brilliance that I see every day - a student helping a stranger pick up spilled papers, a profound comment from the quietest student in class, and the passion of my peers as we discuss world issues are all things that remind me of what my generation will accomplish. The fact that the cynicism of our parent’s generation has not completely permeated our outlook of the world gives me so much hope. Though we may still be naive and starry-eyed, we have energy and ideas and the drive to take the problems of the world into our own hands and shape them in a way that leaves everybody better off in the end.