ALUMNI
Obituaries
Sayonara HIROYUKI KITA (FF ’13–’20) passed away suddenly on July 4, 2020 at the age of 42. Hiro, who taught Japanese at ASIJ, and his wife Virginia had returned to Nagasaki prefecture, which is where Hiro grew up, during ASIJ’s summer break. Hiro was diving and fishing with childhood friends, while Virgina stayed with his family in his hometown. While diving, Hiro was separated from his friends, who were unable to locate him. Following a search-and-rescue mission, Hiro’s body was found the following morning. He had drowned while spearfishing. Hiro is survived by his wife, Virginia Kita who teaches Spanish at ASIJ. Hiro received his BA in education from Saitama University, which he attended on a soccer scholarship to play on the university’s team for four years. After beginning his teaching career in Japan at Kakeduka Elementary School in Shibuya, where he received the Teacher of the Year Award, Hiro moved to Vancouver, Canada in 2005 to pursue a TESOL certification. Following that he moved to Fort Wayne to pursue a MSc in elementary education at Indiana University–Purdue University. While studying for his master’s, Hiro ran the local Japanese Saturday School. On
his return to Japan, he taught at several schools including New International School of Japan. Hiro initially joined ASIJ in 2011 as a middle school Japanese teacher, covering a maternity leave, before becoming a full-time member of the faculty in 2013. He began teaching in the Elementary School’s Japanese department and later moved to teach in the High school. Hiro was an enthusiastic and popular teacher both in the classroom and as a soccer coach on the field. He was known as a happy, generous colleague and friend and valued member of the ASIJ community. “He was a great man, teacher, coach, and husband, and always a positive, optimistic, and happy person. I recall he had his first ASIJ experiences with us in the MS division when I was the Principal,” wrote Scott Adams (FF ’05–’17). “I knew right away he was a naturally-gifted teacher, one who developed warm, supportive relationships with students and colleagues. He was a supportive, caring colleague, too, and made you a better person because of having worked with him.”
THE AMBASSADOR \\ FALL 2020
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