From March 3 to 8, ten students of the eleventh cohort of the TOMODACHI Sumitomo Corporation Scholarship Program participated in the East Coast training program in New York and Washington, D.C.
The first half of the training took place in New York. The students attended workshops at Columbia University, where they discussed Japan’s role in international relations and leadership skills. They also visited the Sumitomo Corporation of Americas (SCOA) office, where they delivered individual presentations to SCOA executives, sharing insights from their study abroad experiences so far. The New York portion of the training began with a dinner attended by USJC Executive Vice President Fred Katayama (JALD ‘23).
For the second half of the program, the students traveled to Washington, D.C. They visited SCOA’s D.C. office and explored historical sites to deepen their understanding of U.S. history. The students also attended dinner with USJC Board Chair Emeritus Susan Morita (Arnold & Porter), DC Regional Vice Chair Margaret Cummisky (Hawaiian Airlines, JALD ’04), DC Regional Vice Chair Yuka Hayashi (the Asia Group), and TOMODACHI Alumni Regional Representative of the Washington D.C. Vicinity Region Janrose Samson (TOMODACHI Dallas-Sendai Young Ambassadors Program ‘16), and USJC Program Manager Karin Tsumagari. The students actively engaged in the conversation, with some sharing their aspirations to contribute to the U.S.-Japan relations in different forms from future government leaders to entrepreneurs. Many also highlighted the importance of first-hand experience in studying in the U.S. to deepen their cross-cultural understanding.
Reflecting on the workshop about leadership skills, one of the scholars, Tomoki Iriono, commented, “I realized that leadership cannot be confined to a single leadership, and […] anyone can demonstrate leadership to some extent. […] Moving forward, both during my time studying abroad and in my future career, I would like to apply this concept, especially in team projects. By doing so, I can demonstrate leadership regardless of titles.”