SL Scholarship Testimonials 2021
| Year 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
I encourage everyone to try it!
ID24 Sakura KUSUNO
Hello, my name is Sakura Kusuno, a sophomore at ICU. I am undecided on my major, but I plan to study in MCC major Sociology minor.
While I have not had much contact with people since I started college due to the Corona disaster, I have long felt that SL would be a great opportunity to interact with people from outside the university. In addition, when I spoke with students from Nagasaki at the International Youth Peace Forum I attended this past winter, I was surprised at the difference between the peace education I had received and the peace education in Nagasaki, and this sparked my interest in peace education in general in the A-bombed city, which led me to participate in SL in Nagasaki. I applied for the SL Scholarship because I wanted to reduce my financial burden as much as possible. I participated in the SL in Nagasaki for a month during the summer vacation this year. I prepared and managed the Youth Peace Forum, where youths from all over Japan and Nagasaki discussed the reality of the atomic bombing and peace together, and received lectures from people working for nuclear weapons abolition from Nagasaki at the Nagasaki University Nuclear Weapons Abolition Center. Other valuable experiences included hearing directly from A-bomb survivors, touring A-bombed remains, and learning about both sides of the history of damage and perpetration. Based on these experiences, I am planning to hold an online A-bomb exhibition during the fall break together with the members who have participated in SL in Nagasaki so far. I know that one of the hurdles for many people, including myself, in participating in SL is the financial aspect, but I believe that this scholarship, which is made up of donations from alumni, will be of great help as it covers accommodation and transportation expenses. I encourage everyone to take up this challenge!
Learning of Ghana
ID24 Yui Doimoto
Ho Technical University, Ghana
Reason for participating Service-Learning
I had been interested in educational development in developing countries since before I entered ICU, and I wanted to apply for the International SL because I wanted to visit a developing country once. The reason I applied for the scholarship was because I am planning to study abroad as an exchange student from my junior year, and participating in two overseas programs during my enrollment at ICU, the International SL and the exchange program, would not only place a heavy financial burden on my family, but also my sister, who is three years younger than me and will be entering university in the future, so for her sake, I wanted to reduce her financial burden as much as possible. I wanted to reduce the financial burden as much as possible for my younger sister who is three years younger than me.
About the activities
Although the event was held online due to the new coronavirus, we introduced environmental and sanitation issues in Japan, and in cooperation with students from Ho Technical University in Ghana, we conducted a survey of residents, junior high school students, and teachers to solve the garbage problem in a fishing village called Keta, analyzed the results, discussed them, and proposed solutions. We analyzed and discussed the results and proposed solutions.
We felt that the people of Keta in Ghana, with whom we worked, were highly aware of the problems in their community, and had a strong attitude of proactively trying to solve the problems and learn as much as possible in this SL. In the process, I not only reflected on my own learning and attitude toward society, but also on how we should support developing countries. I realized that I had unknowingly assumed that we, as people from developed countries, knew more than they did and that we could help them, and in fact, I learned a great deal from them. In fact, I learned that people from developed countries do not "support" people from developing countries, but rather work together as partners to solve problems on an equal footing, and I strongly felt that it is the local people who are the main actors in solving problems. What I learned in terms of knowledge through the activities was also useful in considering where to apply for the exchange program.
Message to students interested in the SL Scholarship Program
Before applying, the SL Scholarship Program may seem like a very high hurdle. In fact, I was not confident that I would be accepted because my English was not very fluent compared to other students and I had no overseas experience at all. However, if you are honest about your feelings, your enthusiasm will surely be conveyed. I was able to receive an SL scholarship, which made it easier for me to apply for an exchange program because I was able to reduce my financial burden at the International SL. There is no harm in trying! As long as you have the motivation and enthusiasm, everyone has a chance. We support you!
Interest in social issues
ID24 Reina YANAGISAWA
I wanted to do more practical international cooperation and exchange!
ID24 Hiyona OTAKE
Silliman University, Philippines
1. Reson for applying for Service-Learning
I wanted to do more practical international cooperation and exchange!
I have been focusing mainly on development studies and pedagogy since I entered the university, but I felt that I was not satisfied with all the work I was doing at my desk. I wondered how much of what I was learning was just theory on paper, and to what extent this knowledge would be useful in the real world. Then I learned of the International Service Learning program, and although it was not exactly the same as international cooperation, I thought it would be an opportunity to make use of my own learning, reflect on it, and connect it to the next step.
I applied for the program because I thought it would be an opportunity to utilize my own learning, reflect on it, and connect it to the next step.
I wanted to "provide a service."
In the past, I had participated in a study tour in Vietnam for a week and in Cebu Island, Philippines for a week. I learned only in my own way because it was a study tour and returned to Japan without giving anything back to my country. This left me with a lasting impression and I wondered if it would be possible to foster a more mutually beneficial relationship, so I became interested in service learning, which includes not only learning but also the concept of service.
I wanted to study with other TUAT students from Japan and overseas!
I entered the coronavirus disaster. I was not involved with many people and just stayed in my room, facing the computer and studying.
I was confined to my room, facing the computer and studying without much interaction with others. I would like to get to know the other students at ICU better,
I wanted to study with other students from other countries, and that was the last reason I applied for this program.
2. Reason for applying for the scholarship
I wasn't sure if my part-time job would be enough to cover everything.
私の親が勤めている職種はコロナに⼤打撃を受けました。そのこともあり、学費をお願いしている以上、追加的な学びは⾃分で賄うつもりだったのですが、⾃分のバイト費⽤で全て賄えるか不安だったので奨学⾦に挑戦することにしました。
3. Activities
I participated in the international SL at TUAT Silliman in the Philippines.
The entire program was conducted online, as the corona epidemic had not yet abated. The first two weeks were spent in online classes with students from Silliman University. The first two weeks were spent in online classes with students from the University of Silliman, where they learned about Philippine culture, history including Japanese relations, and current social issues, which they discussed with students from ICU and Silliman. The next three weeks were spent doing service work at the Little Children of the Philippines and Bata ng Calabnugan orphanage. Every day for about two hours.
The last week was spent in Kayangan, where we had a workshop with cultural exchange, academic learning, and fun games. The last week was an opportunity to reflect on what we had learned over the past months with other students, to give a presentation and to receive feedback from the students to further develop our learning.
4. Learnings
There are so many things I have learned that I am not sure if I can summarize them well, but if I were to pick one thing, it would be that learning is based on the efforts of all people. When I was given the position of service provider, I had the mindset that I had to control the students as an educator, asking myself "What can I do to deepen the children's learning? However, in the course of service activities, I realized that the children had the ability to create their own learning, and in fact, there was much more for me to learn. I realized that good learning does not come from the efforts of any one person, but from building trust, cooperation, and collaboration with all the actors present. And although it may be a little different from what I have learned, it has given me more self-confidence than anything else. I learned that there are people who listen to my opinions and dreams and that there is no shame in working hard towards them. I will continue to listen to, absorb and learn from the opinions of others while maintaining confidence in my own actions and language!
5. Message to students interested in scholarships
Don't give up on SL because of money!
I was interested in SL from the beginning of my enrollment, but hesitated for financial reasons! I had almost given up on SL because I wanted to participate in an exchange program in my junior year, and I needed to save up money for that! Then I found out about the scholarship, and I took a risk and tried to apply for it. I was so happy to receive the scholarship. Please give it a try!
Service-Learning is where ICU's learning is put into practice.
ID22 Manami Eileen MORI
Hi, my name is Manami Eileen Mori, ID22.
For me, service learning is a place where I can put what I learn at ICU into practice, and since ICU is an open-enrollment school with 18 different departments, I am sure you will learn to look at things through different disciplinary glasses, such as development studies, physics, environmental studies, psychology, etc. Service learning is a great opportunity to get out of the classroom and actually look at issues you are interested in and get involved with organizations that are taking action.
Service learning is a great opportunity to get out of the classroom and actually look at the issues you are interested in and get involved with organizations that are taking action. I think many people are wondering about the difference between volunteering and service learning, and I think the gist of it comes down to whether or not you have your own "questions" and whether or not you can prepare your own "positionality" in advance to respond to those questions.
In my case, when I visited Iceland while on a leave of absence from ICU, I became interested in geothermal energy, which led me to my own question. In Iceland, 100% of the country's energy came from renewable energy sources such as hydropower and geothermal, and geothermal power was used for baking bread, hot springs, and growing vegetables. However, according to our Icelandic guide, Iceland's geothermal power potential is ranked seventh in the world, but Japan is ranked third. And the turbines in Icelandic geothermal power plants were also made in Japan by Mitsubishi and Toshiba. In Japan, however, geothermal was used for only 0.2% of the total. This made me wonder and I wanted to know more about it.
I looked for a service-learning program that I could choose to deepen my questions. The Service Learning Center connected me with the Citizen's Electricity Liaison Group, a non-profit organization that conducts research on privately owned power plants. There, solar and hydroelectric power plants had been surveyed before, but when I joined the group, they decided to send a survey form to geothermal power plants as well. I also participated in publicity activities using social networking sites, such as talking about geothermal on Instagram live with representatives of the organizations.
During the summer, I was invited to visit a geothermal power plant in Kyushu for a month, in response to my request to "learn from experience. It was a good experience for me to make an appointment directly with a geothermal power plant and actually visit the site.
Now, based on that experience, I would like more people to know about the wonderful geothermal energy, and I am going to focus my efforts on communicating this to the public. In order to promote this awareness, I am going to visit Tsuchiyu Onsen, a hot spring resort in Fukushima Prefecture where geothermal power is generated by a hot spring inn, and a nuclear power plant. I would like to document the stories I hear there in the form of documentaries and other video works. In addition, I would like to give a presentation about my dream of traveling around the world to geothermal resources at the upcoming BACKPACK FESTA conference. The trigger was to try to know more about my interests. This helped me to understand what I like, what I don't like, and how my interests have changed over the years. If you are at all interested, please join us!