Economics-Mathematics | Columbia University ‘20

Seisen International School ‘16

“I believe that my education at an all-girls international school in Japan put me at an interesting place in which I was raised in an empowering environment inside a country that continues to disempower me because of my identity as a woman. As international schools are relatively more removed from the systemic prejudice inherent in Japan, they have even more of a responsibility to foster students who are adequately equipped to tackle prejudice and uphold justice in Japan; instead, we see that international school students currently contribute to perpetuate the cycle of discrimination. My life-long mission is to empower women in Japan, and I realized that I can and must start with my immediate surroundings, right now”

International Relations and International Law | University of Edinburgh ’21 

Seisen International School ’17

“My parents left their lives behind in Bangladesh to give my brother and I better ones in Japan. While I've experienced limitless comfort and opportunity, my particular nook of privilege being tucked between an upbringing in Tokyo and a cultural bond to Bangladesh allowed me to realize that most people who were just like me would never experience even a fraction of the dignity I was used to, because of the circumstances they had been born into. I want to use my privilege to preserve safety, comfort, and dignity. Compassion is instinctive, but effective and respectful action towards social justice is learned. I would like to support young people in my community as they begin this lifelong process of listening and learning.”