The Ambassador. Fall, 2021

The Ambassador Fostering a community of inquisitive learners and independent thinkers, inspired to be their best selves, empowered to make a difference.

Fall/Winter 2021

LEO IKENAGA ’08 Talks taiko and music composition

RICE FIELD PROJECT ASIJ’s first crop of rice grown on campus

The American School in Japan

ICU PARTNERSHIP

ASIJ and ICU enter into a formal partnership

DARUMA AT 50

Celebrating half a century of ASIJ’s literary magazine

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In this Issue Features

06 13

Renowned taiko drummer Leo Ikenaga ’08 shares his music with students

Exploring the Elementary School's on-campus

19 ASIJ and ICU enter a strategic partnership

22 Celebrating 50 years of the Daruma literary magazine

28 Alana Xiang ’21, recipient of this year’s award

More 03 \\ Head of School’s Message 04 \\ ASIJ Highlights 31 \\ Fundraising Update 51 \\ ASIJ Alumni Connect 54 \\ Alumni Impact Award 56 \\ Class Agents 58 \\ Artifact 59 \\ Obituaries 64 \\ The Big Short

Matt Wilce

Jarrad Jinks

Ryo Ogawa

Jarrad Jinks Ryo Ogawa

Olivia Hertrick

Miranda Liu

Clive Watkins

Claire Lonergan

Catherine Iwata

communications@asij.ac.jp alumni@asij.ac.jp —

1-1-1 Nomizu, Chofu-shi Tokyo 182-0031, Japan The Ambassador is published

by The American School in Japan ASIJ alumni, families, faculty, and friends receive The Ambassador Although some photos taken for this issue depict subjects who are not wearing masks, all photo shoots followed strict safety protocols with staff and subjects, distancing and wearing masks at all other times. Some images were taken before the pandemic.

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HEAD OF SCHOOL

You have probably heard me say before that ASIJ is an aspirational school, and that those aspirations cannot be funded through tuition alone. I’m pleased to be able to report that our donors have responded to that call by continuing to support the Annual Fund in ever-larger numbers.

As you can see from our fundraising report on page 31, our faculty and staff participation grew last year to 60%, while parent participation grew to 25%. Those are both admirable numbers, but I am certainly appreciative whenever a parent notes that they want to see our parents supporting the school in higher proportions than the faculty and staff. And that gap is certainly narrowing each year. Our alumni giving is also growing and although 3% may seem low, it translates to a meaningful contribution for which we are deeply grateful.

All of this is immensely important, because a reliable increase in donors and donations each year gives the school

the learning outcomes of all students, your extra support makes it possible.

For example, as I write this, we have launched our search for the newly created position of Director of Service Learning.

Often, “service” at some schools can be perfunctory “box checking” exercises with little long-lasting educational value. While many service learning opportunities at ASIJ are deeply meaningful (see page 13 for a story on our rice project), we know that the concept of service is not yet embedded throughout our curriculum. To meet our goal for all ASIJ students to have an inherent desire to leave the world a better place than they found it, we must ensure that

Message

the concept of service (and knowing how best to take action) is as accessible a part of a child’s “toolbox” as reading, writing, and arithmetic.

It is important to know that when we refer to Service Learning, we are not exclusively referencing volunteer work or philanthropy. Inspired by the work of one of the world’s leading thought-leaders on Service Learning, Cathryn Berger

Service Learning is action to address the needs of our communities. It applies, deepens, and extends learning beyond the classroom, infusing relevance, purpose, and meaning across curricular and co-curricular experiences.

Service Learning nurtures empathy and commitment, allowing learners to develop essential competencies and dispositions in ASIJ’s Portrait of a Learner.

(more news on that later) are very important aspirations for ASIJ, but they’re certainly not our only aspirations. When you participate in the school’s Annual Fund, you contribute to the important work that ASIJ is doing, and you help to prepare ASIJ students to make a difference in this world.

Thank you again for your support,

Head of School

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ASIJ

Highlights

ARTS

MS Musical Honk! Jr. Middle school students landed on stage in a performance of Honk! Jr this November. This reimagining of the ugly duckling story cleverly turned masks into duck bills and featured a quacking cast. It was also a welcome return to the theater with a live audience after last year’s virtual performance.

CAMPUS

CULTURE

CULTURE

More Horse Power

The Big Dig

Red vs White

Two new buses featuring a more school-spirited design made their debut in August. The new design incorporates the school name and

Students at the Early Learning Center returned to Shimada Seifun-jo for their annual sweet potato dig. After getting their hands dirty and a lot of hard work, student's ended up with a mountain of imo to take back to class.

The annual Japanese Sports Day made its return this year after a oneyear hiatus. Students were split into the traditional red and white teams and competed in various games.

get a similar makeover next year.

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ASIJ

Highlights

HALLOWEEN

Frighteningly Cute Witches, dinosaurs and even a magic carpet paraded through campus as part of the Elementary School’s annual Halloween activities. Faculty and staff also got into the spirit of as dalmatians lead by Associate Principal Ms Shy as Cruella.

EVENTS

EVENTS

ARTS

Cardboard Carnival

NHS Induction

Crushing it On Stage

The high school SUPA Entrepreneurship class, jazz band, and elementary Cardboard Engineering club collaborated to bring a Cardboard Carnival to the MPR for our second graders to enjoy. The high schoolers showed off their cardboard games, competing for the tokens the younger students had to spend.

On Monday, the National Honors Society hosted its annual induction ceremony. This year, the virtual event was live streamed and led by our

The Black Box theater played host to the fall play this October and a show set in a small southern Californian town where strange things are happening to the young people who live there. Over 30 cast and crew members worked to bring Crush to the stage.

Treasurer. Congratulations to the 30 students in Grades 12, 11 and 10 who were inducted into the ASIJ chapter.

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Drum Call about taiko, music composition and

It’s a cloudy Thursday morning in early fall and the energy in the ASIJ courtyard is almost electric. Students from the elementary school sit before a large drum, squirming and chattering in anticipation as middle and high schoolers alike gather around the picnic tables. Faculty and staff emerge from buildings or pause in their meals, preparing their cameras for what is sure to be a one-of-a-kind experience. But they aren’t kept waiting for long — soon, an athletic young man dressed in traditional Japanese garb and a hachimaki headband appears to the applause of the audience. After a brief introduction, Leo Ikenaga ’08 approaches the drum, bachi drumsticks poised to begin the show as the buzz of the courtyard quickly dies out into silent suspense.

weather — deep, powerful, rumbling through the courtyard and engulfing the audience in entranced wonder. The performance is not only percussive and musical, but vocal and athletic as well, as the drummer throws his sticks against the taiko drum with abandon, punctuating his drumming with traditional kakegoe shouts. The elementary school and adults are breathless at the artistic and athletic feat there’s a beat of awed silence before the courtyard erupts in applause as the emcee once more prompts the audience to “give it up” for Leo, a member of arguably the world’s most well-known taiko

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If you’ve heard of Japanese taiko drumming, performance group that has become synonymous with the art form to Japanese and non-Japanese audiences alike. After its inaugural performance in four decades bringing the wonders of taiko and other traditional Japanese forms of performance and music to Europe, North and South America, and Asia. The group celebrated its 40th anniversary this year, and central to its commemorative concert, Inochi, is ASIJ’s own Leo Ikenaga, who composed, directs, and performs in it. Leo is somewhat of an active not only as a performer but also behind the scenes. In fact, Inochi a member of the group.

But it wasn’t an easy journey for Leo to make it to an apprentice, which Leo did almost ten years

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ago in 2013. Along with all the other apprentices in his cohort, he moved to Sado Island in Niigata part in a rigorous two-year training program that Leo described as “living life like a monk.” “You wake up at 5:00 in the morning, you run about ten kilometers every day, you harvest your own rice… it’s a very, very rigorous program,” he shared.

And it’s not just the training schedule that makes these restrictions,” Leo explained of his lifestyle internet. There are no cell phones, no computers, no alcohol, no relationships. It’s in the middle of nowhere and you don’t get to go home at all. You have a day off maybe four times a year.”

It may seem that Leo must have been a taiko fanatic to put up with such living conditions in exchange for an opportunity to join the foremost taiko group in the world, but surprisingly, that wasn’t the case. After graduating from ASIJ,

Leo reunited with Moko-sensei, his childhood taiko instructor

Leo headed to New York to begin his freshman year as an economics major at Cornell University.

“I was just plain not sure of what I wanted to do in high school,” Leo shared, “so when I was at ASIJ, I just expected myself to become a lawyer or an investment banker or someone who works in the

And so I was thinking about all of these things, and wondering, how do I live my life to the fullest?”

In his struggle to make the right decision for himself, it was a memory of this time at ASIJ that really helped Leo make up his mind. “Actually, it was in 10th grade English class that we read this

the expectation was. It was just ‘the path.’” While he commented that his parents were open minded, Leo himself struggled breaking away from the well-trodden path that many of his peers at ASIJ and later at Cornell were following. But even as he

“I really remembered it vividly. I don’t recall the exact words, but the message was ‘carpe diem’ — you should live your life to the fullest. And I really, really wanted to do that in my life, but I didn’t know how.”

his course didn’t feel right to Leo. “It was a constant struggle within me, because I was pursuing econ at Cornell, and I did a lot of internships at investment banks. And I was pretty much going to become an Ivy League banker, but I knew it wasn’t my calling.

Partly because of what I experienced during my internships, and partly because of what I’d seen from my experience at ASIJ and at Cornell, I felt

As his college career came to a conclusion, Leo felt that this was his chance to really make a big change in his life. “I thought, if I’m going to make the leap, I have to do it now,” he recalled. “I want to, I need to do it before I get sick of myself.” He wasn’t sure exactly what leap to take, but he knew that he wanted to really push himself to step outside his comfort zone and gain new experiences. “I wanted

as a person once I started doing that type of work, and I couldn’t live with that.”

situation and push myself to the limit,” Leo shared about his thought process at the time. “When I was looking for something like that, I found the

It wasn’t until his senior year at Cornell that Leo made what would turn out to be a life changing decision, the decision not to pursue finance after college. “When I was about to graduate college, a lot of things happened,” he shared.

“The big 3/11 earthquake in Japan happened, and unrelated to that, I also lost a friend of mine.

exactly with what he had in mind, so after careful but because I wanted to do it, it wasn’t tough mentally. I didn’t want to quit — I really enjoyed it, because I’d never done all these things before,” Leo commented about his experience as an apprentice.

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Despite the intense physical endurance required

It may not have been a serious commitment at the time, but it was certainly a step along the path

his youth, he felt he had been missing a sense of meaning in his endeavors, a driving motivation that he found on Sado Island. “I’ve been blessed to have a very privileged life,” he noted. “I wasn’t

years harvesting rice and practicing day in and day out, Leo’s efforts and talents during his time as an apprentice paid off, and he became a probationary member in 2015. “Not everyone gets to become

with just passing all the time,” Leo shared of his school days. “And so I created that situation to force myself to really work hard, because frankly, up until then, I hadn’t worked hard. I didn’t really know how to put effort into things. And I really wanted to learn that.”

apprenticeship, maybe one or two will become a member, maybe zero,” Leo explained. And that’s

know, I looked at the Peace Corps and all these different things, but music was something of a passion of mine,” Leo explained. “I wanted to do one of the most famous and best Japanese cultural groups.” Music wasn’t a new interest for Leo — in fact, he’d been exposed to a broad spectrum of music since he was born. “His family is very into music,” ASIJ Japan Center co-director Kyoko Takano (AP ’96–10), who is a close friend of Leo’s mother, shared. “His sister is a professional pianist, and Leo started playing piano from age two.”

Leo didn’t stop there. “I started with playing the piano, and then I moved on to the cello.

And then in fourth grade, I took a year of taiko class at my elementary school,” Leo reminisced of his earliest experiences with making music.

Moko Igarashi, Leo’s childhood taiko instructor, remembers Leo from that time period well. “My most vivid memory of him was that he was quite a bright student, and very lively, ” she shared. “He was a model student, and his eyes were always very full of curiosity. He also performed taiko in quite a few public events outside of school in those days, like local Japanese festivals.”

Leo’s involvement with music only deepened as he moved up to high school at ASIJ. “When I was here, I was in the orchestra. I also was in a rock band. I played the guitar and the piano, and did music composition here, too,” he shared. (He unfortunately declined to review the footage we Bands!) While he’d taken a break from taiko while at ASIJ, once he was at Cornell, he couldn’t resist the draw. “In college, I joined the taiko group on campus and played there for four years,” he commented, with a modest caveat that it was just a club activity and was “nothing too serious.”

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members have a year to prove themselves up to the mental and physical challenge of rehearsing and performing day in and day out required to succeed in the group. “Pre-COVID, we’d practice from 9am until 10pm every day,” Leo shared.

“And when we’re not practicing on the island, we’re touring. When you’re on the road and have a show, you’re in the theater for the whole day.”

But Leo was up to the challenge, and in 2016, he two-thirds of the year touring and the rest of the time rehearsing shows and preparing new works on Sado Island.

But somehow, amidst his packed schedule, “While on a tour, in between shows, you actually have some time to kill,” he admitted, “so that’s when I’ll work on composing stuff.” He also environment for creating musical pieces. “I live alone in a secluded place, and I don’t have WiFi, I don’t own a TV. So I have all the time in the world to work on compositions. It was actually a small silver lining to the pandemic… I had a lot of time while everything was on lockdown.” Leo his time at ASIJ. “I feel like I’ve been composing all my life. It wasn’t something I tried to acquire as a skill. Whenever I played the piano, I’d make up something on my own. It’s just that I never really made it into a piece or, you know, wrote

ASIJ, in my music composition class.” He shared composers, Joe Hisashi and Ryuichi Sakamoto.

“What I really enjoy about those two is that they write a lot of songs that are kind of familiar to everyone and everyone likes, but they also do a lot of niche underground compositions. Their background isn’t exactly mainstream. They do all these different things and they’re constantly making new stuff.”

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Leo also does a variety of different things — composing

because I don’t know all the parts of the orchestra, so I had someone help me out. But I would say that I wrote 95% of the work.” Leo has never been one to back away from less than stellar experience with a previous composer who for the group’s 40th anniversary. “I didn’t enjoy the previous orchestra performance that we did because the composers they asked to write for us didn’t really know us well,” he shared. So when the group’s band director announced that their 40th anniversary, Leo didn’t hesitate. “I raised my hand and I said, ‘I want to write a piece.’ And so I wrote it and I made a demo tape on my computer and I showed it to the people in charge, and then things just started rolling.”

When asked if he’d like the chance to do more experimental music like Joe Hisashi and Ryuichi Sakamoto, Leo was of two released publicly that are very experimental, so I’m pretty work with a production company from the UK who introduced us to musicians from all over the world, and a lot of the music that we composed together with those people was aimed towards advertising, like a 30 or 45 second cut for commercials. Producers are looking for new sound all the time,

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so we do do these experimental things, but they don’t exactly get released. I mean, if you look for it on Spotify, you can listen to all the stuff, but it’s very different from what people

On the other hand, Leo has an eye towards the future, as well. “I would say I’m really just contemplating my future,” he explained. “I don’t know what I’m going to be doing in or something. Really, I would love to be involved in taiko and music composition.”

But for the moment, Leo is enjoying all the opportunities his passions with younger generations. Back at ASIJ, Leo spends the afternoon doing workshops with students whose eyes sparkle as they stand before the drums, bachi in hand, just as Leo’s had so many years ago. Leading them through simple rhythm activities in which the children play a response to Leo’s and other faculty members’ calls on the taiko of music composition. Most of these kids most likely won’t go on to pursue a professional taiko career, or become music composers, but as Leo knows very well, anything goes. “I just really, really want to live my life to the fullest,” music, undoubtedly inspiring the next generation of ASIJ students to do the same.

Rice Rice Baby

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Preparation Rice is often called the essence of culture in Japan. The foundation of myths and spiritual beliefs, celebrations and milestones in life, and the basis of many social practices and traits, rice and its cultivation are an integral part of the Japanese identity. Similarly, over the coming months the project will bring together many strands of the curriculum — from science and design tech to Japanese language and service — as well as students of different ages all brought together by the process of cultivating rice.

Before any planting could rice paddy on campus was preparing the garden plots by adding raised dirt walls, cultivating the earth and installing a The next step was for the fourth grade students to add rice bran fertilizer to the water. Students scattered the powder into the water, stomped their feet and used hoes to mix it with the soil.

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Planting to rest for a few weeks it was time to begin planting the rice seedlings.

Students followed the strings to try and make straight lines as they pushed the seedlings into the mud. The fourth graders planted most of the field but left two rows at the front for the Kindergarten classes to plant a different type of rice, mochigome, that is stickier and used to make mochi.

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Medaka As the plants began to grow, students began to think about the implications of growing rice on campus.

“We used this wonderful experience to practice our problem solving skills and some students were concerned that the rice paddy would attract mosquitoes,” fourth grade teacher Jen Wacha noted.

The solution they came up with in consultation with the farmer was to add medaka they would eat any mosquito larvae.

Obser ving the inspired students to build aquaponic systems in their classrooms to further the growth of basil plants in systems — now in fifth grade — to see first hand how the medaka contributed to an ecosystem. Some students were motivated to explore further and one build aquaponic systems at home to grow lettuce for his pet rabbit.

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Harvest Before beginning the rice harvest an important step was to drain the paddy and rescue the medaka.

Students and adults alike were surprised the summer months. The completion grade science unit on Earth systems and the harvest itself saw students cut the rice into small bundles, tie them with hemp string, and then stack them on drying racks.

To celebrate the rice harvest, our second graders staged a matsuri which saw them carry mikoshi (portable shrines) they had designed and built on the theme of rice and school spirit. The activity tied together their units on community, the Japanese curriculum as well as design tech. Fourth grade taiko students joined the event to provide a musical accompaniment as the matsuri parade made its way through the Elementary School, central courtyard and CAD building.

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Threshing and Polishing Once the rice had dried outdoors in the fall sun, students utilized a traditional piece of machinery powered by a foot treadle to thresh the rice, removing the grain from the stalks. They collected the rice and bagged it ready for the next stage which was peeling and polishing the rice.

This involved passing the rice through two different machines to remove the outer husk and then polish the kernels.

At the end of the process, students got — shiny, white grains of rice.

Once all the rice was collected, was less than they had anticipated. They brainstormed how they could use the rice they’d grown to support Second hunger in Japan. Working with design tech teacher Hardi Fichardt, a group of interviewed the elementary students to build an understanding as to what kind of label they needed for the rice bags.

The high school students are taking these ideas and will go through the design cycle to produce the packaging sell the bags of rice and will share with the community their knowledge about the work of Second Harvest.

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Thanks to the work of ASIJ’s Japan Center, students were guided through the rice growing process by local farmers Mr and Mrs Otsuji. Throughout the process, student translators assisted in explaining each step for their classmates, providing them with an authentic opportunity to use their language skills and new vocabulary.

A Tale of Two Schools

The date is October 2, 1962. A diverse group of about 50 men and women, formally clad despite the lingering summer heat, gather beneath a red and white striped tent to celebrate a momentous occasion in the history of ASIJ: the groundbreaking of the brand-new Chofu campus, purchased from International Christian University in 1960 and set to open for the 1963–64 school year. But what started as a simple

member regularly served on the ASIJ Board for many years, further emphasizing the close relationship between ASIJ and ICU covering more than half of ASIJ’s history.

informal cooperation between two like-minded institutions.

For the coming decades, many children of ICU’s non-Japanese faculty attended ASIJ—today, ASIJ’s alumni community includes over 100 ASIJ graduates whose parents were ICU faculty. The inverse relationship held true: hundreds of ASIJ alumni have attended ICU over the years. An ICU faculty

Professor Shoichiro Iwakiri and ASIJ Head of School Dr

And so 60 years later, on the morning of August 27, 2021, leaders from ASIJ and ICU came together in the ASIJ Multipurpose Room for a different ceremony. After more

“opportunities for exchange and cooperation” between ICU and ASIJ in the future in a ceremony live-streamed for the ICU and ASIJ communities. “ASIJ and ICU have a long, long history together,” remarked Hardin during the ceremony,

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The partnership agreement was signed by the heads of both schools ASIJ Board Chair Bob Noddin speaks with the guests from ICU

acknowledging the depth of the schools’ collaboration in the past. “And I think it's exciting to look to the future of what we can accomplish together.”

together and commit ourselves to working together to shape the future we envision,” one of the major contributors to Partnerships Ryosuke Suzuki commented in his opening remarks. “Together, we can help our students become global leaders and future game changers. Together, we can make a difference and make a greater impact on the local communities around us.”

Japan ICU Foundation Executive Director Paul Hastings and ASIJ. Not only is he an ASIJ alumnus himself, his three sisters Rose ’98, Katherine ’13, and Sarah ’03 also attended the school as did his wife Deborah Wissel ‘99. His father Tom Hastings (AP ’97–00) was a long-term board member.

Given his deep connection to both schools, Hastings was instrumental in developing the partnership agreement between ICU and ASIJ. It was while living on the ICU campus in Mitaka for the 2019–20 school year and sending his son to second grade at ASIJ that Hastings reconnected with the wasn’t long before the pair got the ball rolling on a formal partnership agreement between the two schools. “I believe that ASIJ and ICU share common values and goals,” Hastings shared based on his intimate knowledge of both institutions.

“They both seek to educate global citizens who contribute to society.” But that’s not all ICU and ASIJ have in common, Hastings continued—ASIJ and ICU are physically close to one another in proximity, which allows the two schools to establish tangible creative exchanges and collaborations.

Some of these collaborations are already coming to fruition. Suzuki is already in contact with Professor Ryosuke Fujinuma, a soil science specialist at ICU, about ongoing projects at ASIJ, one of which is the rooftop garden initiative that kicked off last school year. “Professor Fujinuma hopes to start a similar project at ICU, and our students and faculty

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are happy to lend their knowledge and experience,” he explained enthusiastically. Conversely, he hopes to tap Professor Fujinuma’s expertise in agricultural areas such as hydroponics and composting to aid in further development of the rooftop garden.

realm of science. ICU is offering an “early decision” college admission opportunity for the Class of 2022 wherein ASIJ seniors who meet certain criteria can receive preferential admission to ICU for the following academic year. The provides for future “lectures by ICU faculty provided for ASIJ students,” and Suzuki is working with ICU to host an ASIJ cross country event using ICU’s facilities. “There are so many possibilities for the future,” he remarked optimistically.

One such possibility has taken shape in the form of a Strategic Partnerships intern. Shintaro Okubo ’19, who is currently a third-year student majoring in education at ICU, shared with us that he is “very excited to be back at ASIJ,” further building a bridge between the two educational institutions. “I hope to contribute to developing and maintaining partnerships internship. “As I’m planning to pursue a teaching career, I would also like to discover ways to connect with the local community myself. It will be a tremendous experience to learn how an international school of this calibre reaches out to organizations and creates learning opportunities for its students.”

Along with Professor Fujinuma, another ICU faculty member in contact with ASIJ is Professor Tomiko Yamaguchi, who specializes in the sociology of agriculture and food. Suzuki ways for students to make a meaningful impact on the local community that ASIJ and ICU share.

Representatives from ICU were given a full campus tour, and are seen here learning about the irrigation system for our rooftop garden

Hastings, who made the connection between Suzuki and the two ICU professors, feels that engaging with the local community is a key element in this partnership. “I believe in the mantra ‘think and act globally and locally,’” he commented when asked about ways he hopes to see ICU and ASIJ to the ASIJ-ICU partnership will be a deeper engagement with the local community in West Tokyo.”

These local connections are an important aspect of the holistic, multifaceted education that students receive at ASIJ. Not only do they provide key real-world learning experiences, but they also tie into many aspects of the ASIJ Portrait of a Learner, helping students develop their mindsets as global citizens through collaboration and communication. Scott Wilcox, Deputy Head of School for Learning, expressed the importance of the partnership agreement with ICU at the ceremony. “A core element of our work moving forward to deepen learning is the importance of learning partnerships that take learning beyond the walls of school,” he explained, sharing his excitement for future opportunities to engage with the local community, “And we think that’s particularly important in our Japanese context when we have so much

The groundbreaking ceremony for ASIJ’s Chofu campus in 1962, which was build on land purchased from ICU “We believe that together we truly can do remarkable things for our students,” agreed Hardin, who went on to speak about the importance of providing students with experiences to develop their understanding of the world around them, such as the opportunities to engage with the local community that the agreement with ICU will provide.

make with the broader Japanese community.”

Chairman of the Board of Directors, Bob Noddin, shared similar excitement at the ceremony. “Today, we actually start the next step of our journey in providing a different type of education,” he commented, expressing his anticipation at the opportunities to advance and develop the types of learning experiences ASIJ can offer through this partnership with ICU.

institutions well: “It’s not about today, but about the future,” he stated of his aspirations for the collaboration. “Working together as learning partners with ICU, we can better reach local communities to create a better future.”

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The 2021 Daruma on the printing press at Murooka Printing 22

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Rolling Off The Press Daruma

“Time is a sort of river of passing events and strong is its by and another takes its place.”

The Roman Emperor and philosopher, Marcus Aurelius may have been speaking about time and the passing of our lives, but his words certainly ring true when talking about the ASIJ student literary and art magazine, Daruma.

Daruma turned 50 years old this past spring. This was the latest edition recognizing ASIJ student creativity and expression through writing, artwork, poetry and prose. The providing insights into the lives, hopes, dreams, thoughts, feelings and passions of generations of ASIJ students. After 50 years, Daruma has become, as student and Daruma staff member Sena Chang ’24 says, “a treasured relic of ASIJ.” Each school year, a team of typically about a dozen students, along with a faculty advisor, solicit work from their peers in the form of poetry, short stories, photography and artwork. The purpose is to give students an opportunity for creative expression outside of the classroom. The process starts, as last year’s Daruma staff said, “the moment a student decides to put their confusions, their questions, or their emotions into color, language, and form” and it continues when they choose to submit and share their work.

The student editorial staff then curates the submissions that best capture the “confusing, enigmatic and immaterial,” the expression of the ASIJ student’s lived experiences. And the product, (the magazine itself) has evolved into a time capsule of sorts. As the quote by Marcus Aurelius states, “a river of passing events” that “provide insight into the perspectives of the contemporary student body through the curation of an enduring published product.”

TIME — from nd to th grade

A unique example of time, and how Daruma experiences of ASIJ students throughout, is on display in a section of this spring’s 50th edition. Several of last year’s seniors had an opportunity while in grade 2 to write haikus about “time.” They wrote about how landscapes change over time, wanting time to move faster so they can get outside to recess and the memorable clock kits they used to learn to tell time. Many of these 2nd grade haikus were included in the 40th edition of the magazine, as that milestone provided a chance for a “Time” retrospective, and some of these students went on to be Daruma staff members in high school. Last spring they had the chance to meet again grade memories. And though some of the students had not necessarily been close friends over the past decade, student Ina Aram ’21 realized they “know each other in a uniquely intimate and distant way — we hold memories of each

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Max Duncan (FF ’19–21) celebrates another successful publication with the 2021 Daruma team

other from age seven, at seventeen.” And those memories are shared through their experiences Daruma. 10 years on from 2nd grade and they can see how they “are intimately and unexpectedly a part of each other’s stories,” how their lives “run parallel to those of the people around us,” and how the lives and experiences of ASIJ students “are spurred by the lines of poetry and pencil drawings circa 2011.” The common thread where all of these experiences intersect?

On the pages of Daruma.

Whether looking at an issue from this past spring, to an issue 15 years ago or even going back as far as 30 years, the photos, the poems, the stories all thread a common needle. ASIJ students can Daruma relating to the experiences of identity, what we call home

our present. There can also be found in the pieces a longing from students to understand how our pasts and presents might inspire our futures.

Time has been the constant thread that any ASIJ any issue of Daruma.

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THE TROUBLE WITH TIME time can be, time does not come without its faults.

Last year as Karen Noll (AP ’03–21), former faculty advisor and current librarian, along with Daruma staff members, browsed and digitized 50 years worth of student work, they realized that there were some pieces that simply didn’t “age well.” Though time gives us a unique and refreshing perspective, some truths about our pasts. Max Duncan (FF ’19–21), the faculty advisor for the past few years, commented that time posed a challenge in that “last year’s staff struggled a bit with reconciling the past with the present. The reality that some issues, some language and topics don’t ‘wear well’ into the present day. Some language that was common in the ’70s or ’80s just may not be considered appropriate or acceptable today. The Duncan posed the question: “What will Daruma staff 50 years from now say about our language and representation (or lack thereof?) today? Only time will tell.” This was an issue much discussed, grappled with and considered throughout the year and there was consensus amongst the staff that though the magazine’s purpose is to provide

Previous Daruma advisors connected over a Zoom call

a forum for student experiences, we must look at these pieces within the context of when they were written and try to understand and learn from that.

MUROOKA PRINTING AND ASIJ

Two things have remained constant for Daruma over time. One is the support the administration and the school has given to the arts through this student publication. ASIJ must be lauded for supporting the written and visual artistic life of its students for 50 years! There have certainly always been yearbooks, and those serve a wonderful purpose of capturing the day to day, the events and the accomplishments from one year to the next. But an artistic magazine like Daruma, captures the thoughts, hopes, fears, ambitions, confusions, anxieties and truths that students experience while growing up. To support an advisor and the costs associated with printing a magazine each year, for 50 years, demonstrates a multi-generational commitment to their students and the arts.

The other constant is the unique relationship the magazine has had with a local publisher, Murooka Printing. Eriko Murooka and her father Hikoe Murooka have printed Daruma for the past 30 years. They are a local, family owned printer and when I took over

as advisor from Wally Ingebritson (FF ’86–09), his one admonition to me was “Use Murooka Printing!”

I’m sure the printing work could be outsourced at a lower cost, but Wally’s was a sage piece of wisdom in that through the 30 year partnership with Murooka Printing, they have developed an understanding of the role Daruma plays in the life of the school, for the lives of its students, and how that can be best represented on the printed page.

CLOSING

To quote faculty advisor Max Duncan again, “Time has been an ever present member of the Daruma staff and artistic representation year in and year out. Though advisors and students come and go, the lived experiences of ASIJ students at school, in Tokyo and greater Japan remain constant. And these experiences are borne out in the words and images that are curated each year in the magazine.”

Last spring, former advisors to Daruma, including Onions (advisor ’04), Wally Ingebritson (advisor ’05–’09), myself, Steve Dornbach (advisor ’10–’12)

about Daruma. Just as the 2nd graders turned 12th graders met and quickly felt the connection

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they had through the work represented on the pages of Daruma, so too, did we as advisors. We quickly fell into easy conversation, reminiscing mostly about our students, their commitment to the sharing of ideas, to making sense of their lives and representing that, for their classmates, on the printed page. It was clear that each advisor carried with them during their tenure, the weight of that responsibility and the desire for the magazine to be the best representation of students’ lived experiences as possible.

To read Daruma is to get a glimpse into the common and shared lives and experiences of 50 years of ASIJ students.

Sena Chang ‘24 said it best at the conclusion of an article from this past spring, describing how Daruma links one generation of ASIJ student with the next, when she says “Through its the pages of Daruma transcend generations, possessing an immortal soul that you, dear reader, are a part of at this very moment.”

And student Nathaniel DuBois ’21, wrote a lovely piece titled “A Trek Through Time” for the 50th edition that deftly encapsulates the concept of time and the connection students have been describing for generations. It is a written piece that creates a walk through the experience of each grade level while weaving in a poem that connects each stanza along the way. The poem portion of is work reads:

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“The journey starts with a single step.

One foot in front of the next.

The ground may be hard.

The path may not be set.

We may meet others.

But they too trek as we do.

We all walk along.

Ahead lies our own future.

Beneath lies our life.

Yet we’re drawn back to the path we’ve already traveled.

The connection we create with people.

The moments we share with others.

The feelings we experience together. Foundation is found in the past. my footprints.

Maybe you’ll see something I don’t.”

June Kushida (FF ’72–75; ’82–03) with members of the 1984 Daruma team

Mary Onions (FF ’96–16) poses with members of the 2004 Daruma team

June Kushida (FF ’72–75; ’82–03) with members of the 1997 Daruma team

Bari (Karlin) Douglas ’98 THE AMBASSADOR \\ FALL/WINTER 2021

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Strength and Courage Award

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The sixth annual Strength and Courage Award was presented to Alana Xiang ’21 in June of this year.

The prize of ¥1 million (approximately $10,000) is presented annually to a senior who has displayed courage and personal strength during their time at ASIJ. “I was in PE when I got the email,” Alana receive the award. “I guess I was pretty surprised because, you know, there were a lot of students who applied, and I didn’t expect to be chosen. It was pretty crazy.”

Deserving students are nominated by faculty, counselors, and administrators at the end of the first semester, and invited to submit an essay describing the ways in which strength and courage played a role in their lives (and in the project or initiative they led). Submissions are reviewed by the Child Protection Task Force composed of students, counselors, administrators, and members of the Board of Directors. Nominees are then interviewed by the task force as a part of the selection process. Those nominating Alana unfailingly noted her leadership and communication skills, her perseverance, and her courage in the face of difficulty and opposition, lauding her abilities to “engage, educate and discuss issues with people with opposing views” and to “speak with passion, dignity, and purpose: to make the world more inclusive.” “She is a student who has led a revolution here at ASIJ,” College Counselor Kristy Raggio shared in her speech at the awards ceremony last June, “A revolution that challenged us all to expand our thinking in regards to individual identity and to provide space and opportunity for each individual to be their true self.”

Alana’s revolution at ASIJ began with a transformation at a smaller scale. Upon moving from middle school to high school, Alana joined the Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA), a student group dedicated to increasing equity and inclusion for community members who identify as LGBTQ+ and spreading awareness about the issues they face. She was eager to bring positive changes to the ASIJ community through the club’s activities, but quickly hit a roadblock. “The club had a lot of members, but it was kind of inactive. There were a lot of students who didn’t feel that they could participate fully,” Alana recalled of the group at the time. “The group was somewhat stagnant and eventually got progressively smaller.”

Kristy Raggio, who became the club advisor during Alana’s sophomore year, also saw a problem.

“The group was struggling not only from a poor

leadership structure — we had 4 presidents and hardly any members — but also from a split purpose. There was a very uncomfortable divide between students who were keen to support the ally-led advocacy aspect of the club’s mission and the students who felt that the club’s main mission needed to be a place for LGBTQ+ students to support each other and share information and resources.” When faced with this problem, Alana, despite being an underclassman who described herself at the time as “an introvert who was quite anxious and awkward around people” didn’t let it get in her way.

“I basically proposed a change to less of a top-down leadership structure, instead using a consensus model for decision making,” Alana explained. Adding that she felt it was important to make sure the members were “deciding on things as a group,” to help bridge the gap between the differing goals of the various club members.

“I advocated a non-hierarchical club model that allowed more of the members to actively participate,” she explained, “At the time what we were missing was cohesion within the group.”

And it worked. “Once we were free of the traditional leadership structure, we began to effectively manage both aspects of our mission: to be a group that promotes ally-ism while also providing a safe space for members of the LGBTQ+ community,” Kristy Raggio commented. Alana’s model, in which any member has the power to present a proposal for club action and any members not in favor must work with the people putting forth the proposal to amend it. Alana referred to the changes as more of a “culture shift,” in which the group continued all of its advocacy activities in essentially the same capacity while also incorporating “a pretty large component of offering a place where queer students within the community can congregate.” “I think that there’s value in that,” she remarked of the new format and the wide range of community members it serves.

Another positive impact Alana was glad to see stem from the new structure of GSA was a heightened level of visibility for LGBTQ+ members of the community, par ticularly transgender students. “The ASIJ community is small enough being a place where trans people exist, and I think that’s powerful,” Alana remarked. “We’re not just going, hey, we accept trans people. The point is that trans people exist here at ASIJ.” By having a visible presence in the school community,

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Alana receiving the award from Safeguarding Coordinator, Monica Clear at the High School academic award ceremony

she explained, community members began to realize that trans issues weren’t hypothetical, they were actually very close to home. She also feels it was an important step in helping trans members of the community who hadn’t come out feel less isolated.

Alana also spoke to the importance of diversity among the faculty and staff at ASIJ, and the positive changes she’s seen over her four years in high school. “If you’re a queer student and you have teachers who are openly queer, I think that’s really powerful,” she remarked based on her experiences with the members of GSA and the teachers at ASIJ. “These faculty members can provide a type of support that even the best allies might not be capable of by connecting on the same level.” In the past few years, ASIJ has embarked on a new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiative to improve diversity in hiring and heighten equity and inclusion of minority groups in the community, something which Alana feels is very important. “It’s not just about students. In a school, you have faculty, you have admin, you have staff, you have students, and to have a healthy environment, you have to make it healthy for everyone,” she remarked. “Diversity in the faculty is totally important.”

But Alana didn’t always feel this level of support and acceptance. When she first moved up to high school, Alana admits that the obstacles in the road to LGBTQ+ visibility and equity felt insurmountable at times. However, rather than giving up, she looked inside herself and came to an important realization. “I came to understand one fundamental thing that has stayed with me since, and will stay with me for the rest of my life: the correct response to adversity is rarely, if ever, to freeze,” she shared. “I think tendency is to freeze when things get really, really tough. But in most cases, you do want to move, you do want to make change, because if you don’t, it becomes a bystander effect.

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If you don’t do anything, chances are other people are also not going to do anything.” She feels this approach is especially important when it comes to social change, and to creating visibility and understanding for a marginalized group such as the LGBTQ+ community. “I think there’s a lot of value to being loud. There’s this idea that when you’re loud, you’re being disruptive, you’re protesting. But I think there’s also a valuable form of loudness where the focus is getting other people to understand that they’re not alone,” she remarked.

And it worked. Kristy Raggio notes that not only was Alana’s senior year one of the most productive school years in the club’s history, but that Alana inspired and supported the community to live true to themselves. Alana’s nomination for inspiration from a variety of lenses. “Alana is a courageous individual that stands up for LGBTQ+ rights, and the rights of all individuals,” reads one reference, while another praises, “She helped voice the concerns and desires of the closeted trans student body at ASIJ.” Alana’s “revolution” led to positive changes in the ASIJ community that increased inclusion and equity for a thus underrepresented constituency.

Now a freshman at Stanford University, Alana is taking steps. “I want to think on a slightly longer time scale,” she shared on the topic of her activism aspirations for her time at college. “I don't want to be like, hey, I’ve always done this, so I'm going to keep doing it. I think there’s space to try to do the analysis for myself and say, ‘what’s the highest impact thing for me to do on a multi-year time scale?’”

But if there’s one thing she knows, it’s that she’s not going to stop moving. “I think a bias towards action is valuable,” work with. It's what I do.”

FUNDRAISING UPDATE

20–21

With each year that I’m part of our school community, I continue to be impressed by the deep and enduring connections that ASIJ fosters and the support we receive from our parents, alumni, alumni parents and current and former faculty/staff.

With your support last year, we raised over ¥85.5 million for the 2020–21 ASIJ Annual Fund. Not only did we surpass our goal of raising ¥80 million, but we increased support from each area of our community, resulting in gifts from 800 donors — a record number! We were particularly proud to receive increased support form our faculty and staff with 60% of them giving to the Annual Fund. This puts us well ahead of our peer schools in the region and it is a testament Donations to the Annual Fund enable us to commit to numerous program enhancements each year. Some of the areas learning opportunities for all faculty focused on DEI and Deep Learning.

Thank you to everyone whose participation, during an extraordinary year, contributed to one of the most generous years of fundraising in our school’s history.

It continues to be a privilege to be part of the ASIJ community and I look forward to seeing what is possible with your continued support this year.

With appreciation,

Claire Lonergan Director of Giving

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FUNDRAISING UPDATE Results Summary

¥85,532,411

We are extremely grateful for the generous ASIJ community. With your support, we raised a total of ¥85.5M for the 2020–21 Annual Fund and set a record with 800 households contributing to our school. Your participation helped us reach our participation goal and surpass our monetary goal for the 2020–21 year, resulting in a 12% increase overall.

The following pages celebrate the community members who made donations to the ASIJ Annual Fund from July 1, 2020–June 30, 2021 whose contributions supported the many moment in the lives of our students. It is our pleasure to recognize your role in making a difference to our students

2019–20 ¥76,529,396

Giving by Constituency

2019–20 ¥76,529,396

Current Parents

Alumni

¥85,532,411 307

264

Total Raised in 2020–21

Current 12% Increase Parents Alumni

194 183

41 Former

Faculty

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194 183

Faculty/Staff 41

Alumni Current Parents ASIJ’s Faculty faculty and staff are a key piece Former of our Annual Fund. Each year we ask Faculty for their support, and they continue to astonish us with their response.

Friends Last year 60% of our faculty and staff

Alumni 5 Current Parents Friends Faculty

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12% Increase

2018–19 ¥64,716,376

2018–19 ¥64,716,376

307 264

Total Raised in 2020–21

5 Friends

5

donated to the Annual Fund — more than ever before! Donations from our faculty and staff clearly demonstrate their commitment to ASIJ and support for the direction the school is going.

When asked why they donate to ASIJ, they said they were “invested in the school’s future” and “believe in the program.” They declare that ASIJ is a “great place for students and teachers,” and they believe funds are “used wisely” to “support teaching and learning.” Ultimately, they say “we are in this together.” We hope their to donate as well.

PTA Parent Annual Fund Committee As we focus on growing the Annual Fund and achieving our target of raising ¥100 million this year, we are pleased Fund Committee. The Committee, led by current parents Jill Kashiwagi and Nancy Michels, already has close to 30 volunteers who have stepped up to promote giving from our parent community. Their goal this year focuses on participation — at any level — which is a cornerstone of our outreach to all constituents.

In the near future, we hope to form a similar committee as part of a reinvigorated Alumni Council that will encourage increased participation in annual giving from our alumni and alumni parents.

If you have any questions or are a parent interested in joining this committee, please contact Jill and Nancy at annualfund@pta.asij.ac.jp.

Strength And Courage Update We would like to share an update in regards to the Strength & Courage Award. As many of you know, the award provides ¥1 million to a Grade 12 recipient each year and it will continue to do so — what has changed is the funding model.

The Strength & Courage Award will no longer be a restricted giving option within our Annual Fund. Donations to the ASIJ annual fund will be unrestricted going forward, and used primarily to support the school’s operating budget.

That being said, the school remains committed to the Strength & Courage Award and will ensure that the award is not only made in perpetuity, but has an opportunity to grow. From this year, ASIJ will create a sub-fund of the current Endowment, “The Strength & Courage Fund”.

Jill Kashiwagi ASIJ PTA Annual Fund Committee Co-Chair

Nancy Michels ASIJ PTA Annual Fund Committee Co-Chair

2020–21 Strength And Courage Donors Anonymous Bruzek, Patty & Ken Hoffman, Joe Lund, Andy ’81 & Denise Nakamatsu, Gaylynn ’91 Nakamatsu, Greg ’86 Sharp, Robert ’87 Tremarco, Joseph & Clear, Monica Wacha, Duane & Jennifer Weiss, Steve ’71 White, Caroline ’57 & Paul

Thank you to all of you who have previously supported The Strength & Courage Award. If you have any questions,

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GIFT CLUBS Gift Club Update

The following pages highlight the generous members of our community who have given for a decade or more or who donate at our gift club levels. This fall we took the opportunity to review our gift clubs and make some School values and heritage. For example, we moved to gender neutral wording for the Head of School’s Circle as there have been several female heads of school during ASIJ’s history.

We chose to celebrate our heritage and rename the Courtyard Circle to the Meguro Circle in recognition of the home of our prior campus and the iconic school gate that now stands in our courtyard. Similarly, the newly named Lantern Society pays homage to our high school yearbook, The Chochin, which means lantern in Japanese, the stone lanterns dotted around campus as well as the lanterns that hang during our Senior Walk.

With the creation of a new giving level, the Black & Gold Society, at ¥2 million (or USD equivalent), we expanded the options for donors at the upper end of our recognition levels. Our top Gift Club, which remains at ¥5 million (or USD equivalent), is now the 1902 Founders Circle which references the year our school was established. were during the 2020–21 school year. Going forward, we’ll recognize our donors at the new Gift Club levels.

1902 Founders Circle ¥5,000,000* AND MORE

Black & Gold Society

¥2,000,000–¥4,999,999*

Lantern Society

¥1,000,000–¥1,999,999*

Meguro Circle

¥500,000–¥999,999*

Head of School’s Circle ¥200,000–¥499,999*

Mustangs League

¥100,000–¥199,999*

Tomodachi Club

¥50,000–¥99,999* *or USD equivalent

Our courtyard screen features the names of donors who give at the Meguro Circle level and above.

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Quadruple Decade Club

DECADE CLUBS

Burkart, Ned ’48 & Pauline Cohen, Rick ’69 & Topper-Cohen, Barbara Downs, Vicky Glazier, Ken ’67 Nielsen, Jeannette ’59 Shimizu, George ’39

Triple Decade Club

Adams, Jim & Nancy Blizzard, Jan ’71 & Craig Boatwright, David ’73 Carlin, Chris & Donna Cooper, Peter & Pam Crandall, Les & Aiko Haines, Andrew ’60 & Lisa Harnik, Peter ’69 James, Larry & Sharon Jones-Morton, Pamela (PhD) Kemmerer, Ruthli & Walter Kobayashi, Albert ’42 & Betty Kroehler Magnuson, Jody ’73 & Magnuson, Clark Livingston, Jerry ’81 & Bonnie Lund, Andy ’81 & Denise McCoy, Will ’59 & Lynne Meyer, Mary ’65 Moss, Carolyn ’73 & Hawkins, Daniel Nicol, Joanna ’52 Pietraszek, Henry & Margaret Schaffer, Sally ’76 Walsh, Bob ’81

Double Decade Club

Bruzek, Patty & Ken Chitani, Yinsei ’68 & Yoshio Coopat, Tom & Cheryle Duke, Sue ’83 Ewart, Emilie ’97 & Jake Fattal, Leon ’57 & Suzanne Francischetti, Mark ’72 Fujishima, Julie ’84 Huo, Eugene ’96 Huo, Jeffrey ’94 Kidder, Paul ’76 & Terry Lury, Dick ’65 & Gemma Mera, Yuhka ’81 Morgenstern, Fred ’83 & Kendra Pierce, Lucia ’68 Porté, Thierry Sanders, Mike ’87 & Jun Squier, Mid & Carol Stokes, Paul & Rose Tunis, Jeffrey Wakat, Barbara ’88

Decade Club

Berkove, Ethan ’86 & Kyra Bernier, Jeff & Seiko Cannon, Alan & Kitakado, Fuyumi Ehrenkranz, Andra ’83 & John Fu, Mingxia & Nishikawa Fu, Hiroko Greig, Katherine ’94 Harte, Esther Hayase, John ’85 & Allison Kamano, Hiroyuki & Harumi Kuroda, Mitzi ’77 & Elledge, Stephen Martino, Bill ’63 & Betsy Meller, Louise ’63 Miller, Scott & Mary Nishida, David & Tina ’85 Norris, Peggy ’65 & Charles Piez, Catherine ’82 & Whatford, Mark Pontius, Pamela ’97 & Rankin, Gregory Schlichting, Richard & Cynthia Seltzer, Susan & Theo Snell, Richard & Fran Sult, Nathan ’75 Taffel, Max ’04 Takada, Yuko Turner, Sally ’66 Wilce, Matt Yao, Alejo & Lusan Zee, Jinly ’90

Decade Clubs recognize donors who have given for 10, 20, 30, 40 or more consecutive years. Donations of any amount count toward Decade Club status. Decade Club members have a tremendous impact at ASIJ with their sustained support.

If you wish to secure your spot in a Decade Club, please consider enrolling in recurring donations through Give2Asia at www.give2asia. org/asij. Your donation will be automatically charged to your credit card each year and will be taxdeductible in the United States.

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GIFT CLUB MEMBERS 1902 Society

¥1,000,000—¥4,999,999

Anonymous Caldwell, Dale & Megumi Cannon, Alan & Kitakado, Fuyumi Ciganer Albeniz, Archie & Yoko Corrado, Dickon & Toshima Corrado, Ito Fu, Mingxia & Nishikawa Fu, Hiroko Kawakami, Junpei & Mai Noddin, Bob & Janette O'Shea, Stephen & Saigusa O'Shea, Kie Park, Chiman & Seo, Alice Ryu, Roy ’77 Sasanuma, Catherine & Taisuke Seltzer, Susan & Theo Tahara, Kunio & Eriko Takahashi, Tomomichi & Yoko Tsusaka, Miki & Jun Uruma, Fred & Ryoko Yoshikawa, Tatsuo & Miho Zee, Jinly ’90

Courtyard Circle

¥500,000—¥999,999

Anonymous Dan, Basil & Chieko Fujishima, Julie ’84 Harada, Mary ’81 & Peterson, Greg Hattori, Keiji & Mayumi Imai, Eiji & Hiromi Ku, Wei & Utsuki, Mina Kuwana, Yumi ’82 & Eiichiro Lee, David ’86 & Kaori Matsui Koll, Kathy & Koll, Jesper Mizuno, Toshizumi & Junko Murakami, Yumiko & Moses, Todd Nakamura, Mariko & Hiro Platek, Nir Porté, Thierry Reese, Lenore & Isenberg, Joshua Reilly, Kenneth & Debbie Sowder, Stuart & Yuson, Rusty Takahashi, Masaki & Yamaguchi, Yumi 36

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Takami, Manabu & Miyuki Takamiya, Toshiro & Shino Tawara, Ted & Lia Toppino, Stephanie & Jon-Paul Yamada, Daisuke & Seiko

Headmaster’s Circle ¥200,000—¥499,999

Acton, Jeff & Akiko Al Mawass, Samih & Idriss, Dania Aram, Alexander & Kim, So Myung Barbir, Paul & Shiho Bender, Brian & Ayako Bernier, Jeff & Seiko Che, Karl & Yasuda, Naomi Cheng, Jill ’63 & Hung Chuchro, Katie & Doug Cook, Justin & April Dennis, Thurman Downs, Vicky Drabkin, Mark & Miwako Edo, Masato & Yoshiko Fink, Jim & Mika Folsom, Richard & Stephanie Fujii, Dave ’83 & Makiko Fujiwara, Fuyuki & Tomoko Fukikoshi, Akihiro & Tomoko Gunji, Harry & Mia Hardin, Jim & Marti Hassan, Matthew & Ojima, Mari Higa, Ernie ’70 & Aya Holjo, Mats & Hiroe Hori, Shinichiro & Suzuko Hyland, Jason & Cvetkovikj, Andrijana Inoue, Katsuo & Asami Kondo, Taro & Reiko Kumar, Partha & Lia Kwan, Sora & Jason Laughlin, Morgan & Sato-Laughlin, Rumiko Mallat, Mary Margaret & Deck, David Matsudaira, Aki McCready, Amanda & Jim Michels, David & Nancy Mito, Koichiro & Kiyomi Muir, Jim & Kanai, Miwa Nagasaki, Tadao & Ayano Nakashima, Amane & Chizuru

Nishimi, Tetsuya ’94 & Kiyoko Norris, Peggy ’65 & Charles O'Donovan, Erin & Tim Okada, Hikaru & Yoshiko Okamoto, Tet ’98 & Eri Oku, Seiichi & Miki Okuno, Marcus & Kazuko Oshima, Robert ’68 Ouk, Chris & Karen Piez, Catherine ’82 & Whatford, Mark Richardson, Kay ’76 & Wynant, JS Semaya, David & Masako Silecchia, Tom & Tate, Saori Slattery, Ronald & Toshiko Smith, Charles & Emi Suzuki, Shunsuke & Saeka Takebe, Tsuyoshi & Maki Talbot, Jay & Yuki Tange, Paul & Denise Tsujiguchi, Hironobu & Maki Waters, Eric & April Winebarger, John & Fumie Wu, Wengang & Jinang, Mingzhu Xiao, Simon & Wang, Lesley Xu, Bin & Hou, Rachel Yamanaka, Shiro & Kaori

Black and Gold League ¥100,000—¥199,999

Anonymous Aiba, Isao & Lisa Armstrong, Peter ’52 Bardowell, Miguel & Oh, Jisa Boatwright, David ’73 Boaz, Reina ’99 & Josh Cashell, Kieron & Haga, Kotoha Chitani, Yinsei ’68 & Yoshio Chowdhery, Sachin & Chika Conrad, Andrew & Chitose Daver, Roxana & Massion, Peter DiCicco, Daniel ’89 & Yuko Dornoff, Jeff & Deanne Ehira, Hiroaki & Nao Ehrenkranz, Andra ’83 & John Evans, Eric & Lisa Fukuma, Lalaka ’93 Goldsmith, Julius & Momo

Guillemette, Eddie & Chi Hartz, Chris & Jen Hattori, Enna ’11 Ishibashi, Kenzo & Seiko Ishido, Keiko & Masayuki Ito, Masahiro & Steele, Julia ’01 Ito, Masatoshi & Kumi Kagimoto, Hardy & Eve Kamano, Hiroyuki & Harumi Kasamatsu, Rika & David Jun Kato, Tadashi & Mena Kawada, Susan & Tadahiro Kindred, Jon & Sachiko Ko, James & Yukari Kobayashi, Terumi & Takashi Koike, Junji & Aya Kothari, Preeti & Vivek Latimore, Timothy & Chieko Ledbetter, Phaedra ’81 & Mark Lee, Sukkyou & Kaneko, Yoko Lury, Dick ’65 & Gemma Ma, Sam & Quan, Veronica Majid, Nasir & Chie Marini, Buddy ’85 & Hitomi Matsuo, Yuki Lee & Taro McGuire, Matthew & Abe, Michi Mentzas, Spyro Miller, Tony & Melin, Cecilia Miura, Denise & Toshi Morgenstern, Fred ’83 & Kendra Mukherjee, Jaya & Mukhopadhyay, Abhijit Murai, Noriko & Yeskel, Bill Nakajima, Ikutaro & Mika Nakayama, Tetsu ’84 & Ayumi Nelson, Brian ’85 Neureiter, Kirk & Mariko Nishida, David & Tina ’85 O'Neill, Stephen & Karen Ogawa, Andy ’90 & Makoto Ogawa, Ryuzo ’99 & Tomoko Okamura, Taro & Yayoi Oline, Mark ’78 & Rebecca Ozeki, Arthur & Kaya Pierce, Peter & Sare, Steven Pike, Kathy Plum, John & Mimi Plush, Marcus & Fiona Possman, John & Shoko Rahman, Farida ’68 Rekate, Jason & Anna Rivera, Damaris & Fahy, John Sakemi, Takeshi & Mie Salathé, Gregory & Regina Samson, Celvin & Vina Schmelzeis, Joe ’80 Scullion, William & Tsugiko

Seki, Ichiran & Wu, Iris Shah, Sachin & Rajul Shang, Bill ’75 & Chen, Stella Sharp, Robert ’87 Shirakawa, Kotoe ’03 & Tomohiro Sloan, Erika ’04 & Schaeffer, Kevin Sumida, Shiori ’99 Sun, Shulin & Imamura, Mica Suzukawa-Tseng, Linda ’72 Suzuki, Rei ’84 Takada, Yuko Takahashi, Atsuhiro & Naoi Takai, Kota & Megumi Takano, Kyoko & Hiroyuki Takizawa, Eiji & Sayo Thota, Parthasarathy & Kamalavani Tsuchida, Carol Turner, Sally ’66 Ueki, Tom & Sachiko Wang, Jianfeng & Ting Watkins, Clive & Sprague, Tasha Whitson, Tom & Misty Xu, Yeren and Wang, Fan Yan, Jack & Moriyama, Natsuko Yang, James ’62 Yoshida, Kumiko Zhang, Charles & Shen, Shirley

Mustangs Club

¥50,000—¥99,999

Anonymous (3) Abe, Minako ’88 & Shelton, Michael Asano, Takahiro & Naoko Barry, Matt ’90 & Amie Bender, Dan & Ruth Besson, Thomas & Andriani, Ruri Brown, Suzanne & Calabia, F Christopher Burkheimer, Ian & Inaba, Yoko Carr, Noah & Kimberly Chapman, Marc ’95 & Matsuhisa, Yoshiko Che, Sangwon & Yu, Hyunjung Chen, Changyu & Nakao, Ai Cromwell, Penny ’67 Epstein, Jonathan & Liu Fillion, Daniel ’92 & Erin Fujii, Dan ’82 & Yuki Gilmartin, Ed Gish, Yoko & George Gonzalez Gonzalez, Carlos & Murrieta Fernandez, Andrea Goto, Satoshi & Yoko

Guillot, Frank ’65 & Ann Hagen, Gordon ’53 Hattori, Hitomi ’83 & Seikou Hiramoto, Hideyuki & Shiobara, Fumiko Hirasawa, Akihito & Tomoko Juanda, Johnson & Aya Kagawa, Osamu & Mami Kobayashi, Takashi & Toshiyo Konishi, Ryu & Rie Kozloski, Richard & Laura Kuwahara, Kei ’09 Lane, Nick & Holly Little, Drew ’87 & Jennifer Lloyd, Aaron & Chiho Ludlow-Ortner, Jules ’72 & Ortner, Robert Marini, Nina ’88 Martino, Bill ’63 & Betsy Matsuda, Reisa ’15 Matsumoto, Toyokazu & Naomi McNeill, Jeffrey & Kazuko Mera, Yuhka ’81 Miller, Mark Nagao, Jonathan & Fusako Neale, David Niwa, Hideo & Kazuko Novy, Bill & Le, Thi Huong Giang O'Brien, Jeff & Willcut, Deborah Odagiri, Akito & Kaoru Okamura, Alto & Risa Okuda, Jun & Natsuko Russell, Bob ’53 Sasao, Toshi & Masami Schlichting, Richard & Cynthia Stokes, Paul & Rose Suzuki, Erie & Tamami Taffel, Max ’04 Tanaka, Rei & Hollie Tanaka, Hiroko Tanaka, Wakana Tischler, Jonathan & Matsumoto, Eiko Topping, Mark & Rich, Motoko ’87 Trozpek, Robin ’67 & Ludd Upadhyay, Bhupesh & Sajala Wakai, Yasuhiro & Chang, Yu-Ching White, Caroline ’57 & Paul Wilson, Derek & Grace Witt, Gene & Janet Xu, Xuguang & Huang, Chao Yamagata, Satoshi and Erina Yamamoto, Takeshi & Waka Yamashita, Atsushi & Akari Yang, Chengwen & Gong, Jian Yoshida-Smith, Jenni ’91 Yoshioka, Sayuri

THE AMBASSADOR \\ FALL/WINTER 2021

37

ALUMNI DONORS 30s

60s

’39 Shimizu, George

’60 Bergt, Dave

40s ’42 Kobayashi, Albert ’45 McKnight, Ronnie (Schwartz) ’48 Burkart, Ned ’49 Smith, Geoff

50s ’50

Haines, Andrew

Colville, Glenn

Lyons, Phyllis

Dockerty, Nancy (Stolle)

McKee, Craig

Oshima, Robert

Namkung, George

Pierce, Lucia (Buchanan)

Peacock, Jeff

Rahman, Farida

’61 Harris, Bonnie (Bongard) Sapala, Beth (Danker)

’62 Meyer, Fred Yang, James Yomine, Daniel

’63 Cheng, Jill (Tsui) Martino, Bill

Lenz, Pam (Alexander)

’51 DeLong, Paul Fisher, Carl Kurtz, Barbara (Hester)

’52 Armstrong, Peter Nicol, Joanna (Strother)

’53 Hagen, Gordon Russell, Bob

’56 Harkness, Sarah (Wheeler) ’57 Fattal, Leon Thompson, Heather (McCune) White, Caroline (McCoy)

’58 Rasmussen, Stirling ’59 McCoy, Will Nielsen, Jeannette (Elsener)

Meagher, Lili (Mitchell) Meller, Louise Perry, David Wardlaw, Andrew

’64 Goehring, Nancy (Bergt) Rice, Stephen Van Campen, Mariko

’65 Gorham, Joyce Guillot, Frank Kurahashi, Nancy (Nagase) Lury, Dick Meyer, Mary Meyi, Laura (Peavy) Norris, Peggy (Tsukahira)

’66 Beecken, Tim Bronsal, Jeannie (See) Marsh, Daniel Saubolle, Michael Turner, Sally (Noll)

’67 Cromwell, Penny Glazier, Ken Kerr, Virginia Trozpek, Robin (Weeks)

38

THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN

’68 Chitani, Yinsei (Chang)

Vivian, Tal Young, Wise

’69 Cohen, Rick Harnik, Peter Manning, Tom Neff, Suzi

70s ’70 Gadsby, Ellen Higa, Ernie Huskins, Debbie

’71 Blizzard, Jan (Schaale) Holloway, Kathy Kroehler, Kaye Moore, Craig Sanoden, Jim Shorrock, Terry Weiss, Steve Wilson, Dave

’72 Alger, Ellen (Matthews) Flynn, Karin (Jagel) Francischetti, Mark Gleason, Ann Ludlow-Ortner, Jules (Ludlow) Rainoff, Brad Suzukawa-Tseng, Linda (Suzukawa) Wexler, Barbara (Teasdall)

’73 Boatwright, David

’75 Carroll, Marjie (Carroll)

’77 Honaman, Andy

Clough, Julie (Van Wyk)

Katayama Esse, Tracy (Katayama)

Jacobson, Kim

Hertenstein, Jim

Kidder, Jon

Kuroda, Mitzi

Kleinjans, Connie

Niimi, Reiko

Ryu, Roy

Kroehler Magnuson, Jody (Kroehler)

Shang, Bill

Sato, Kumi

Leybold, Sandy (Colville)

Sult, Nathan

Melnick, Mark Moss, Carolyn Reiser, Dorothy (Cohen)

Snook, Susan (Kistler)

’76 Anderson, Rusty Feldman, Andy

Thomas, Tory

Hayao, Kenji

Tsuchihashi, Nancy

Horwitz, Liz (Yanagihara)

’74 Reynolds, A-Lan (Von Hornlein)

Kidder, Paul

’78 Kellar, Margie (Miciano) Oline, Mark Smith, Deanna (Adams) Struebing, Joel

’79 Laben, Nancy Whitehead, Chuck

Rich, Miriam Richardson, Kay Schaffer, Sally

Immediately after graduating in 1985 I felt a strong connection to ASIJ and therefore donating to my alma mater was a no-brainer. But after a few years passed, donating to my old high school wasn’t a top priority and seemed to fall by the wayside. Besides, I didn’t really know where my money was going and what it was being used for. However, that changed last year when I learned how our donations are utilized.

Moreover, even though most of us think of ASIJ as a wealthy group, it isn’t necessarily true for all families who would like their kids to attend. Since I had such an amazing education at ASIJ that I feel very lucky to have had, I realized that I wished to give kids that same opportunity that I was bestowed so that ASIJ can continue to produce the leaders of tomorrow.

So last year I donated again after a long hiatus and I plan to continue to do so as long as I can.

—Sandra Orton-Tweed ’85 THE AMBASSADOR \\ FALL/WINTER 2021

39

80s ’80 Breer, Charles Cavanaugh, Tom Eimon, Ivar Kirby, Kyoko (Ono) Lindstedt, Tina

’93 Fukuma, Lalaka (Ogawa)

Lee, David

Nakayama, Mayumi

Nakamatsu, Greg

Riedy, Michael

’87 Beitchman, Greg

’94 Cooper, Brendan

Schmelzeis, Joe

Kohl, Kari (Wilkinson)

Greig, Katherine

Walsh, Will

Little, Drew

Huo, Jeffrey

Rich, Motoko

Nishimi, Tetsuya

’81 Harada, Mary (Che) Hinz, Joel Ledbetter, Phaedra (Onuma) Livingston, Jerry

Sanders, Mike Sharp, Robert

’88 Abe, Minako

Lund, Andy

Cobb, Bitsy (Horn)

Mera, Yuhka

Durfee, Peter

Walsh, Bob

Marini, Nina

’82 Fujii, Dan Kuwana, Yumi (Mera) Lei, Cui-Zhu Piez, Catherine

’83 Duke, Sue Ehrenkranz, Andra (Bowman) Fujii, Dave Hattori, Hitomi (Wakita) Krisher, Joe Morgenstern, Fred

’84 Appeldoorn, Caspar Baumhover, Judith (Walsh) Fujishima, Julie Nakayama, Tetsu Squier, John Suzuki, Rei

’85 Brennan, Susie Hayase, John Marini, Buddy McIntyre, Kim (Ohkagawa) Nelson, Brian Nishida, Tina (Yamano) Orton-Tweed, Sandra (Orton) Sheehan, Dave

40

’86 Berkove, Ethan

THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN

Morgenstern, David Munson, Chris Wakat, Barbara

’89 Anonymous DiCicco, Daniel Hasegawa, Linnea Sano, Tokuya

90s ’90 Barry, Matt Curnutt, Heather Ghosh, Bapi Jiang Yamaguchi, Kiki (Jiang) Krisher, Ako (Inatomi) Ogawa, Andy Zee, Jinly

’91 Kaser, Patrick Nakamatsu, Gaylynn Yoshida-Smith, Jenni

’92 Fillion, Daniel Harvey, Chris

’95 Chapman, Marc ’96 Anonymous Huo, Eugene

’97 Anonymous (2) Ewart, Emilie (Fisher) Pontius, Pamela Whitworth, Brooke

’98 Morohoshi, Shinobu Okamoto, Tet Yokosuka, Masato

’99 Boaz, Reina Ogawa, Ryuzo Sumida, Shiori Wissel, Debbie Woods, Bob

ASIJ

Highlights

00s ’00 Garrett, Greg Hastings, Paul

’06 Araki, Yumi

Joslyn, Andrew

Thornton, Michael

Kearney, Ryan Sack, Jonathan

’01 Anonymous Steele, Julia Thomas-Polak, Sarah (Thomas) Woods, Matt

’02 Delia, Anna (Tuttle) O'Brien, Kelly

’03 Hara, Rina Shirakawa, Kotoe Sloan, Sean Woods, Kevin

’04 Sloan, Erika Taffel, Max

’05 Wakutsu, Shuji Woods, Steve

’13 Deck, Andrew

Dirkse, Tai Yong, Cal

’07 O'Hearn, Patrick Wakutsu, Kohei

’08 Eisenhart, Carson ’09 Bender, Will Kuwahara, Kei

Wakayama, Takuya

’14 Nakayama, Erica ’15 Matsuda, Reisa

20s ’20 Becker, Lain Bergen, Benjamin

10s

Johnson, Una

’10 Deck, Michael

Ohashi, Mina

Forster, David Takano, Mimi

’11

Maeda-Tarumoto, Celine Mii, Hiroki Raineri, Jacob

’21 Hartman, Kai

Hattori, Enna Heideman, Alexander

’12 Keese, Julie

We are driven by our desire to do our part to ensure that the ASIJ experience continues to evolve and be a beacon of learning and growth for the current generation of students and beyond.

We ourselves are a product of the international learning environment like the one ASIJ provides and that experience has shaped us into who we are today. In our minds, we aren’t giving. We are simply giving back to an experience that has given us so much.

—Marc Chapman ’95 and Yoshiko Matsuhisa Current Parents

THE AMBASSADOR \\ FALL/WINTER 2021

41

ALUMNI PARENTS Donors

Adams, Jim & Nancy Al Mawass, Samih & Idriss, Dania Ando, Keiko & Phelps, William Aoki, Shigeaki & Hiromi Aram, Alexander & Kim, So Myung Barber, John & Sue Barrett, Jim & Sue Barry, Jim & Martha Basladynski, Stefan & Christina Becker, Allan Bender, Dan & Ruth Bergen, Paul & Christina Bernier, Jeff & Seiko Blizzard, Jan ’71 & Craig Blodgett, Seth & Sandy Brennan, Susie ’85 Brinsley, Catlan & John Brown, Paul & Akemi Caldwell, Dale & Megumi Cannon, Alan & Kitakado, Fuyumi Carlin, Chris & Donna Chamovitz, Sam & Fumi Chitani, Yinsei ’68 & Yoshio Cihi, Guy & Keiko Conrad, Andrew & Chitose Cook, Justin & April Coopat, Tom & Cheryle Cooper, Peter & Pam Corcoran, Jerome & Marie Cormier, Jonathan & Jamie Cosby, Jeannette

Daver, Roxana & Massion, Peter DiCicco, Daniel ’89 & Yuko Dornoff, Jeff & Deanne Downs, Vicky Eristoff, Guy & Unsil Esplin, Jon & Kaye Evans, Eric & Lisa Falls, Ian & Kim Fish, Gary & Alaete Folsom, Richard & Stephanie Fu, Mingxia & Nishikawa Fu, Hiroko Fujii, Dan ’82 & Yuki Gannon, Ciaran & Susan Ghosh, Bapi ’90 & Miwa Gibson, Mike & Matsue Gish, Yoko & George

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THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN

Gogerty, Dan & Lana Harte, Esther Hassan, Matthew & Ojima, Mari Hastings, Paul ’00 & Wissel, Debbie ’99 Hattori, Hitomi ’83 & Seikou Hermann, Beatrice & Kenneth Higa, Ernie ’70 & Aya Hirasawa, Akihito & Tomoko Hotard, Justin & Ryan, Maureen Howe, Dale & Tsuchii, Noriko Hsu, Jeff & Hiroko Huber, Susan Hyland, Jason & Cvetkovikj, Andrijana Inoue, Hideki & Yuri Ishibashi, Kenzo & Seiko James, Larry & Sharon Jensen, Rene & Bluhme, Christina Jiang Yamaguchi, Kiki ’90 & Yamaguchi, Tetsuro Johnson, Mark & Gessert, Rebecca Jorge, Favio & Pérez, Maria Kadet, Bradley & Chiyako Kanekoa, Brittany & Kasey Kang, Edwin Kannan, Sethuraman & Siripurapu, Prasanna Kanzawa, Elizabeth & Shunsuke Kashiwagi, Blake & Jill Kawada, Susan & Tadahiro Keese, Jack & Pam Kell, Peter & Riko Kessler, Jack Kieffer, Lawrence & Rieko Kindred, Jon & Sachiko Kirby, Kyoko ’80 & Peter Ko, James & Yukari Kochhar, Rakesh & Priti Kohler, Barbara & Skorski, Joseph Konishi, Ryu & Rie Kumar, Partha & Lia Kwan, Sora & Jason L'Heureux, Marc & Heidi Lahad, Meenakshi & Samir Lane, Nick & Holly Latimore, Timothy & Chieko Laughlin, Morgan & Sato-Laughlin, Rumiko Lebrun, Ken & Laurie Lee, David ’86 & Kaori Lloyd, Terrie & Kumiko

Maeda, Akiko Maeda, Ikuyo Magalei, Ben & Martha Majid, Nasir & Chie Mallat, Mary Margaret & Deck, David Matsui Koll, Kathy & Koll, Jesper Matsumoto, Toyokazu & Naomi McCabe, Michael & Patricia McGuire, Matthew & Abe, Michi McNeill, Jeffrey & Kazuko Mendoza, Eli & Chizu Merlino, Marc & Lotta Michels, William & Mary Miller, Scott & Mary Miller, Tony & Melin, Cecilia Mitra, Ronita & Paul, Saumik Morgenstern, Fred ’83 & Kendra Mukherjee, Jaya & Mukhopadhyay, Abhijit Multz, Jeffrey & Susan Nakai-Ishida, Tomoko Nakashima, Amane & Chizuru Nakayama, Mayumi ’93 Nelson, Brian ’85 Neureiter, Kirk & Mariko Nishida, David & Tina ’85 Noddin, Bob & Janette O'Brien, Jeff & Willcut, Deborah O'Donovan, Erin & Tim Ogawa, Andy ’90 & Makoto Ohashi, Hiromasa & Momoko Okuno, Marcus & Kazuko Otoo, Andrew & Natalie Otsuji, Marcus & Liana Pierce, Peter & Sare, Steven Pietraszek, Henry & Margaret Pike, Kathy Platek, Nir Plum, John & Mimi Porté, Thierry Powell, Jay & Kyoko Prairie, Ginny & Shane Prasad, Srilalitha & Sharma, Venkatesh Prasad Prewitt, Dave & Carol Rabindran, Prasad & Heho, Monica Rahman, Zahid & Haq, Maryam Reckord, Josh & Nancy Rekate, Jason & Anna

Relnick, Phil & Nobuko Rivera, Damaris & Fahy, John Salathé, Gregory & Regina Samson, Celvin & Vina Sasanuma, Catherine & Taisuke Sasao, Toshi & Masami Sato, Kumi ’77 & Kanak, Donald Saunders, Michael & Kathryn Schiff, Pei & Doug Schlichting, Richard & Cynthia Scullion, William & Tsugiko Semaya, David & Masako Shah, Sachin & Rajul Shang, Bill ’75 & Chen, Stella Snell, Richard & Fran Squier, Mid & Carol Stokes, Paul & Rose Sullivan, Daniel Sun, Shulin & Imamura, Mica Suzukawa-Tseng, Linda ’72 Takada, Yuko

Takano, Kyoko & Hiroyuki Talbot, Jay & Yuki Tanaka, Takumi & Diana Tange, Paul & Denise Tanimoto, Hiroshi & Michiyo Toppino, Stephanie & Jon-Paul Tougeron, Chris & Katie Tsusaka, Miki & Jun Tull, Mandi & Justin Tunis, Jeffrey Turkki, Teppo & Hyvaerinen, Nina Umezaki, Margit Uruma, Fred & Ryoko Valdes Cervantes, Diego & Macotela Talamantes, Yolanda von Reis, Peter & Helene Wakutsu, Kyoko & Hiroshi Walton-France, Dominic & Hannah Wardell, Linda Weinland, Rick & Novo, Sandy Welckle, Steve & Noll, Karen

Whitson, Tom & Misty Wierman, Albert & Ineke Wildman, Mark & Yuko Wilson, Derek & Grace Winebarger, John & Fumie Witt, Gene & Janet Wu, Andrew & Chen, Alice Xu, Yeren and Wang, Fan Yamada, Daisuke & Seiko Yang, Joe & Chen, Doris Yao, Alejo & Lusan

Grandparents Aiba, Isao & Lisa Gish, Yoko & George Kindred, Jon & Sachiko Macek, Gary Witt, Gene & Janet Yoshida, Katsuhisa

No matter the school, I’ve never just sent my kids off to school each day; I wanted to be involved. Not every parent can be as involved, but it is a tremendous asset when parents lend time and talents to our community. Even more essential is making a yearly donation to the Annual Fund.

It’s true that ASIJ is a remarkable institution and already provides an outstanding education. Having an ASIJ graduate has taught me that school is no longer just about grades and test scores. Colleges and future employers want resilient, innovative thinkers and leaders; this is what makes the Annual Fund so important.

The Annual Fund isn’t about buying books or keeping the lights on; it’s about making the ASIJ education better each year. The Annual Fund allows the school to make goals a reality by adding programs and people that make the education at ASIJ exceptional for kids enrolled today and tomorrow.

—Amanda McCready Alumni Parent

THE AMBASSADOR \\ FALL/WINTER 2021

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PARENT DONORS Donors

Anonymous (14) Abe, Minako ’88 & Shelton, Michael Acton, Jeff & Akiko Aiba, Rei & Rumi Al Mawass, Samih & Idriss, Dania Anderson, Heather & Mitch Aomi, Shinya & Emi Arai, Hirokazu & Mayumi Aram, Alexander & Kim, So Myung Armstrong, Rieko & Ryan Asano, Takahiro & Naoko Barbir, Paul & Shiho Barboriak, Laura & Eric Bardowell, Miguel & Oh, Jisa Barlow, John & Aoy Beas-Quintanar, Jesus & Penaloza Murillo, Kenia Bender, Brian & Ayako Benning, Miyuki Bernier, Jeff & Seiko Besson, Thomas & Andriani, Ruri Biragnet, Jean-Philippe & Minako Brown, Paul & Akemi Burkheimer, Ian & Inaba, Yoko Burpee, Mark & Nakamura, Machi Caldwell, Dale & Megumi Cancella, Jason & Eileen Cannon, Alan & Kitakado, Fuyumi Carr, Noah & Kimberly Cashell, Kieron & Haga, Kotoha Chamovitz, Sam & Fumi Chang, Yoontae & Yun, Hana Chapman, Marc ’95 & Matsuhisa, Yoshiko Che, Karl & Yasuda, Naomi Che, Sangwon & Yu, Hyunjung Chen, Changyu & Nakao, Ai Cho, Yong Cheol & Kim, Hyo Jin Chowdhery, Sachin & Chika Chuchro, Katie & Doug Ciganer Albeniz, Archie & Yoko Cihi, Guy & Keiko Cokerdem, Shayne & CokerdemDePriest, Diane Confer, Dwain & Miah Conrad, Andrew & Chitose Cook, Justin & April Corin, Matthew & Amy

44

THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN

Corrado, Dickon & Toshima Corrado, Ito Cremers, Vincent & Savona, Rebecca Crockett, Rigel & Janzen, Ariel Dan, Basil & Chieko Davis, Lennie & Tamera Dobro, Marc & Marie-Christine Drabkin, Mark & Miwako Duong, Dat & Mizuguchi, Tomoko Durfee, Peter ’88 & Megumi Edo, Masato & Yoshiko Ehira, Hiroaki & Nao Epstein, Jonathan & Liu Fallon, Rob & Jana Falls, Ian & Kim Fernandez, Alex & Jovelle Feygin, Gene & Tokumaru, Takako Fink, Jim & Mika Fu, John Eric & Ito, Ai Fujii, Dave ’83 & Makiko Fujii, Gene & Amy Fujishima, Julie ’84 Fujiwara, Fuyuki & Tomoko Fukikoshi, Akihiro & Tomoko Geng, Jessica & Jiang, Yu Germansen, Corey & Yuki Golden, Brian & Donnabelle Goldsmith, Julius & Momo Gonzalez Gonzalez, Carlos & Murrieta Fernandez, Andrea Goodman, Clay & Wu, Norah Goto, Satoshi & Yoko Greer, Scott & Margaret Guillemette, Eddie & Chi Gunji, Harry & Mia Harigaya, Masatomo & Tomoko Harrison, Jeff & Manon Hartz, Chris & Jen Hassan, Matthew & Ojima, Mari Hattori, Keiji & Mayumi Hayes, Brian & Moss, Sylvia Helly, Nicolas & Ingram Helly, Anna Herzenberg, Jon & Davenport Herzenberg, Carla Hiramoto, Hideyuki & Shiobara, Fumiko Holjo, Mats & Hiroe Hori, Shinichiro & Suzuko Hundleby, Natalie & Fukaya, Keisuke Imai, Eiji & Hiromi Inoue, Katsuo & Asami

Ishido, Keiko & Masayuki Ito, Masahiro & Steele, Julia ’01 Ito, Yoshimasa & Kae Iwata, Ken & Catherine Jedrey, Peter & Eri Jessee, Michael & Miyuki Jiang Yamaguchi, Kiki ’90 & Yamaguchi, Tetsuro Johnson, Mark & Gessert, Rebecca Jorge, Favio & Pérez, Maria Juanda, Johnson & Aya Kagawa, Osamu & Mami Kagimoto, Hardy & Eve Kakihara, Saori & Chang, Yongjin Kanekoa, Brittany & Kasey Kanematsu, Tohru & Yoko Kannan, Sethuraman & Siripurapu, Prasanna Kasamatsu, Rika & David Jun Kashiwagi, Blake & Jill Kasuga, Maki Kato, Akiko Kato, Tadashi & Mena Kawakami, Junpei & Mai Kell, Peter & Riko Kieffer, Lawrence & Rieko Kobayashi, Takashi & Toshiyo Kobayashi, Terumi & Takashi Kochhar, Rakesh & Priti Koh, James & Heidi Koike, Junji & Aya Kondo, Taro & Reiko Konishi, Ryu & Rie Kothari, Preeti & Vivek Kozloski, Richard & Laura Ku, Wei & Utsuki, Mina Kumar, Partha & Lia Kwan, Sora & Jason Laughlin, Morgan & Sato-Laughlin, Rumiko le Roux, Riaan & Wilna Lebrun, Ken & Laurie Lee, David ’86 & Kaori Lee, Sukkyou & Kaneko, Yoko Liu, Jiongwu & Wang, Ruiheng Llamzon, Leah & Larry Lloyd, Aaron & Chiho Lloyd, Terrie & Kumiko

Ma, Sam & Quan, Veronica Ma, Youqing Macek, Craig & Debby Maeda, Akiko Mantel, Klaas & Makiko Marini, Buddy ’85 & Hitomi Matsudaira, Aki Matsuo, Yuki Lee & Taro McCready, Amanda & Jim McCullough, Angie & Jake McGuire, Matthew & Abe, Michi McShane, Ai & Rory Mentzas, Spyro Michels, David & Nancy Miller, Chad & Kitahara, Cathy Miller, Mark Minamisawa, Toshiyuki & NingNing Mito, Koichiro & Kiyomi Miura, Denise & Toshi Mizuno, Toshizumi & Junko Mohamed, Iku & Emi Morita, Sergio & Mayumi Moses, Neal & Jenifer Muir, Jim & Kanai, Miwa Murai, Noriko & Yeskel, Bill Murakami, Yumiko & Moses, Todd Nagao, Jonathan & Fusako Nagasaki, Tadao & Ayano Nakai-Ishida, Tomoko Nakajima, Ikutaro & Mika Nakamura, Mariko & Hiro Nakashima, Amane & Chizuru Nakayama, Tetsu ’84 & Ayumi Neureiter, Kirk & Mariko Nishikata, Noriyuki & Wakako Niwa, Hideo & Kazuko Noddin, Bob & Janette Novy, Bill & Le, Thi Huong Giang O'Neill, Stephen & Karen O'Shea, Stephen & Saigusa O'Shea, Kie Odagiri, Akito & Kaoru Odaira, Noritsugu & Tomoko Ogawa, Ryuzo ’99 & Tomoko Okada, Hikaru & Yoshiko Okamoto, Tet ’98 & Eri Okamura, Alto & Risa Okamura, Taro & Yayoi Oku, Seiichi & Miki Okuda, Jun & Natsuko Okuno, Marcus & Kazuko Ouellette, Kirk & Agnes Ouk, Chris & Karen Ozeki, Arthur & Kaya

Park, Chiman & Seo, Alice Park, Sangpil & Hwang, Jung Platek, Nir Plush, Marcus & Fiona Prairie, Ginny & Shane Raub, Josh & Shimada, Mihoko Reese, Lenore & Isenberg, Joshua Reilly, Kenneth & Debbie Ricci, Vince & Amemiya, Mari Rivera, Damaris & Fahy, John Rolls, Grant & Harris-Rolls, Joanne Sakagawa, Leila & Kenichi Sakemi, Takeshi & Mie Salathé, Gregory & Regina Samson, Celvin & Vina Schiff, Pei & Doug Seki, Ichiran & Wu, Iris Seltzer, Susan & Theo Sheehan, John & Laura Shimizu, Ryo & Ayaka Shy, Leah & Wilson, Frazer Silecchia, Tom & Tate, Saori Slattery, Ronald & Toshiko Smith, Charles & Emi Sobajima, Hisaya & Kinuko Sorba, Alan & Emi Sowder, Stuart & Yuson, Rusty Strenger, Hermann & Chung, SoYoung Sun, Shulin & Imamura, Mica Suzuki Tatar, Vuslat & Mika Suzuki, Erie & Tamami Suzuki, Rei ’84 Suzuki, Shunsuke & Saeka Tahara, Kunio & Eriko Takahashi, Atsuhiro & Naoi Takahashi, Masaki & Yamaguchi, Yumi Takahashi, Tomomichi & Yoko Takai, Kota & Megumi Takami, Manabu & Miyuki Takamiya, Toshiro & Shino Takebe, Tsuyoshi & Maki Takigayama, Yue & Hiroaki Takizawa, Eiji & Sayo Takizawa, Nicola & Takao Tanaka, Rei & Hollie Tanaka, Hiroko Tanaka, Takumi & Diana Tanaka, Wakana Tawara, Ted & Lia Taylor, David & Sue Thota, Parthasarathy & Kamalavani Timms, Ryan & Yamaura-Timms, Aya Tischler, Jonathan & Matsumoto, Eiko Topping, Mark & Rich, Motoko ’87

Toppino, Stephanie & Jon-Paul Tremarco, Joseph & Clear, Monica Tsuchida, Carol Tsujiguchi, Hironobu & Maki Tull, Mandi & Justin Turkki, Teppo & Hyvaerinen, Nina Ueki, Tom & Sachiko Upadhyay, Bhupesh & Sajala Uruma, Fred & Ryoko Valdes Cervantes, Diego & Macotela Talamantes, Yolanda Vermeire, Marc & Deborah von Reis, Peter & Helene Vriend, Pete & Amy Wakai, Yasuhiro & Chang, Yu-Ching Walton-France, Dominic & Hannah Wang, Jianfeng & Ting Wang, Junfang & Zhaoyu Watanabe, Takahiko & Aya Waters, Eric & April Welckle, Steve & Noll, Karen Wheeler, Stephen & Gabi White, Dan & Vanessa Wilcox, Scott & Sheila Wilkinson, Bryan & Randi Wilson, Derek & Grace Winebarger, John & Fumie Wu, Andrew & Chen, Alice Wu, Wengang & Jinang, Mingzhu Xiao, Simon & Wang, Lesley Xu, Bin & Hou, Rachel Xu, Xuguang & Huang, Chao Yamada, Daisuke & Seiko Yamagata, Satoshi & Erina Yamamoto, Takeshi & Waka Yamanaka, Shiro & Kaori Yamashita, Atsushi & Akari Yamashita, Yoshimitsu & Kaoru Yan, Jack & Moriyama, Natsuko Yang, Cheng & Feng, Hongxia Yang, Chengwen & Gong, Jian Yokosuka, Mariko & Masato ’98 Yoon, Michael and Chun, Jolie Yoshida, Kumiko Yoshikawa, Tatsuo & Miho Young, Joseph & Liu, Suying Young, Sandra Zafar, Walid & Munshi, Sarah Zhang, Charles & Shen, Shirley Zook, Elizabeth & Charles

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FACULTY DONORS Faculty & Staff Anonymous Ando, Keiko Apel, Tricia Apel, Warren Augustine, Brad Benning, Miyuki Berg, Josh Blodgett, Sandy Blodgett, Seth Brady, Alicia Brigham, Akiko Bryson, Sean Burpee, Mark Cancella, Eileen Cancella, Jason Carrillo, Christy Cash, Paul Chambers, Saho Claudio, Milan Clear, Monica Cokerdem, Shayne Cokerdem-DePriest, Diane Colosimo, Anna Confer, Dwain Confer, Miah Crockett, Rigel Cruz, Tina Curtis, Pip Davis, Lennie Davis, Tamera Denver, Amy Dirkse, Tai '06 Douglass, Jackie Duncan, Max Easterday, Emily Eimon, Ivar '80 Faulk, Laura Fichardt, Emily Fichardt, Hardi Fisico, Misael Fuller, Jody Gessert, Rebecca Ghadimi, Mary Ghosh, Bapi '90 Ghosh, Miwa Gibson, Mike Gilmartin, Ed Go, Carol

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Gotterson, Timothy Hara, Rina '03 Hardin, Jim Hardin, Marti Harris-Rolls, Joanne Harrison, Jeff Harrison, Manon Hatagami, Masami Hawes, Emma Heidt, Nick Herzenberg, Jon Hill, Joseph Howe, Dale Hundleby, Natalie Ill, Brad Ill, Linda Isoda, Yoshie Ito, Chiharu Iwata, Catherine Iwata, Kentaro Janewicz, Laurel Jessee, Michael Jessee, Miyuki Jinks, Jarrad Johnson, Mark Kakihara, Saori Kanekoa, Brittany Kano, Iku Kanoh, Aileen Kanzawa, Elizabeth Kato, Akiko Kennedy, Kristen Kita, Virginia Kogure, Nathalie Koizumi, Mary Krisher, Ako '90 L'Heureux, Heidi L'Heureux, Marc Lahad, Meenakshi Landry, Tracie Llamzon, Leah Lonergan, Claire Lundgren-Williams, Christine Macek, Craig Macek, Debby Machidori, Naoko Mallat, Mary Margaret

Maloney, Michael Markovich, Annie McCullough, Angie McCullough, Jake McQueen, Doug McQueen, Naoko McShane, Ai Miles, Joshua Milton, John Morohoshi, Shinobu '98 Muhammad Waqar, Mirza Murray, Jilene Nakai-Ishida, Tomoko Nakamura, Machi Neale, David Noll, Karen Ogawa, Ryo Ostermiller, Jenny Pérez, Maria Pettit, Nami Pfeiffer, Mary Power, Candace Power, Erin Prairie, Ginny Prairie, Shane Prasad, Srilalitha Przybylski, Wesley Puhr, Jesse Puma, Beth Quinto, Jeff Rathgeber, Wendy Raub, Josh Reed, Jane Richard, Jamie Rivera, Damaris Rodriguez Cains, Samarie Rolls, Grant Sack, Jonathan '00 Sakagawa, Leila Shimada, Mihoko Shy, Leah Spencer, Luke Sugiya, Minako Sutter, Sarah Suzuki, Ryosuke Tajima, Toshi Takano, Kyoko Takano, Mimi '10

Takigayama, Yue Takizawa, Nicola Taylor, David Taylor, Sue Tokoro, Midori Tomlinson, Roy Tremarco, Joseph Tsuji, Koshiro Tull, Mandi Tummala, Suren Uetake, Bushra Upadhyay, Bhupesh Upadhyay, Sajala Vermeire, Marc Voigt, Suzanna Vriend, Amy Vriend, Pete Wacha, Duane Wacha, Jennifer Wakutsu, Kyoko Watkins, Clive Welckle, Steve Welter, Michael Wilce, Matt Wilcox, Scott Wilcox, Sheila Wilkinson, Bryan Wilkinson, Randi Williams, Beau Wilson, Frazer Wood, Lo Worsley, Matthew Wu, Min Yamanaka, Christine Yanko, Matthew Yasuno-Mulholland, Keiko Yokosuka, Mariko Yoshida, Hiromi Yoshioka, Sayuri

Former Faculty & Staff Adams, Nancy Bender, Dan Bender, Ruth Bruzek, Patty Chen, Alice Chen, Stella Chitani, Yinsei '68 Colfelt, Amy Colfelt, Todd Cooper, Pam Cooper, Peter Crandall, Les Dennis, Thurman Downs, Vicky Edgar, Clee Edgar, Suzanne Fish, Alaete Fish, Gary

Fukuda, Taeko Gessert, Rebecca Gilman, Irene Gogerty, Dan Gogerty, Lana Hoffman, Joe Huber, Susan Jones-Morton, Pamela Kemmerer, Ruthli Massau, Kay Mitra, Ronita Novo, Sandy O'Brien, Jeff Pérez, Maria Pierce, Peter Pietraszek, Margaret Prewitt, Carol Prewitt, Dave

Reckord, Josh Reckord, Nancy Rekate, Anna Relnick, Nobuko Snell, Fran Snell, Richard Squier, Carol Squier, Mid Tomlinson, Etsuko Umezaki, Margit Vasché, Polly Wanless, Randy Weinland, Rick Williams, Renee Witt, Gene Witt, Janet

I’ve been working at ASIJ for over 14 years. The quality of education and continuous dedication to each and every student never ceases to amaze me. Supporting that cause with a small donation each month is a pleasure.

—Ed Gilmartin Theater Manager

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DONORS

Corporate Contribution Program A3A Partners LLC adidas Japan K.K.

Deloitte Tohmatsu Tax Co. ELC Japan K.K. Fastly K.K. FCA Japan Ltd. Geometry Ogilvy Japan GK Heitman International LLC Hilton Tokyo Bay K.K. Hilton Worldwide LLC Japan Cloud Computing K.K. Japan Europe Trading Co., Ltd. Kornit Digital Inc. Liferay Japan KK. LVMH Watch & Jewelry Japan K.K. McCann Erickson Inc. McDonald's Company (Japan) Ltd. Morrison & Foerster Asia Services MRM Worldwide, Inc. The New York Times

Oliver Wyman Group K.K. Orbotech Japan Co., Ltd.

Endowment

Gift-in-Kind

Tribute Gifts

Corporate Matches

Corporate Partners in Education

AIG Japan Holdings K.K. Air Liquide Japan Ltd. Alcon Japan Ltd Amicus Therapeutics KK Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Baidu Japan Inc. Biotronik Japan, K.K. Bulgari Japan Ltd. The Capbridge Group K.K. Capital International LLC Cisco Systems, Inc. Deloitte Tohmatsu Corporate Solutions LLC

Edgar, Clee & Suzanne Reese, Lenore & Isenberg, Joshua

In Memory of Ernest Carlson '39 Shimizu, George ’39 In Honor of Leslie Crandall and Ray and Vicky Downs Cheng, Jill ’63 & Hung In Honor of Mary Margaret Mallat Evans, Eric & Lisa

Friends

Beardsley, Meena Brown, Suzanne & Calabia, F Christopher Ito, Chiharu Kamano, Hiroyuki & Harumi Kroll, Cody Watanabe, Akira

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THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN

Japan Europe Trading Co. Ltd

Anonymous Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation BlackRock Japan Co., Ltd. Deutsche Bank GAP Japan K.K. Goldman Sachs Google Google Cloud Japan Indeed Japan Microsoft T Rowe Price Japan KK

Corporate

AFLAC International, Inc. Booz Allen Hamilton Indeed Japan K.K. Morrison & Foerster Foundation

PAG Investment Management Limited Pernod Ricard Japan PGIM Real Estate Japan Ltd. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Schenker-Seino Co., Ltd. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP Siwelco LLC Squire Gaikokuho Kyodo Jigyo Horitsu Jimusho STMicroelectronics K.K. Symrise KK T. Rowe Price International Ltd. tesa tape K.K. Teva API Japan Ltd. ZENY Corporation

Donations from our Corporate Partners in Education (CPE) are invested in the school’s Endowment in order to support the school’s Grants and Speakers program.

Gifts of Stock Former Board member, current trustee and current parent, Jeff Bernier, shares with us why he chooses to donate stock to ASIJ and how it can be a taxeffective way to give.

The easiest is to transfer appreciated stock, funds, ETFs, etc. This is a straightforward process and Give2Asia can help you coordinate with your brokerage account. It can be done online.

bracket this most likely would range from 23%–41% going to Uncle Sam. However, if you decide to donate 27 shares at $38, that would be just over $1,000 to ASIJ. You would then get to claim the $1,000 donation on your taxes and you don’t have to pay any capital gains nor does ASIJ. If you were to sell the shares and then donate cash you would lose 23%–41% to your bottom line.

Let’s say you want to donate $1,000 to ASIJ. One can write a check, credit card, etc for $1,000. tax position, etc and how much you give annually will determine if this can be deducted.

scenario — you bought 1,000 shares of XYZ @$30 a share for a total cost of $30,000. Now XYZ is trading at $38 valued at $38,000. When you sell shares you would have to pay short or long term taxes on the gains, depending how long you held the stock, etc. Depending on your tax

A more complicated way that can provide further savings depending on your tax situation, is to set up a donor advised fund (DAF). For this I recommend individuals you capitalize on appreciated savings and takes it a depending on your gifting strategy.

Giving regardless of what form you choose is important to ASIJ and much appreciated.

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THE GATE SOCIETY Planned Giving

Those who have generously arranged to include ASIJ in their estate plans become members of The Gate Society.

Planned giving is a long-term fundraising option that enables individuals to make charitable donations that consider both the personal and family needs of the donor. Planned gifts are usually made of assets, rather than current income, and are a tax-effective means of giving to our school. While giving, the most meaningful reward is knowing that your gift will leave a legacy and have an impact on future generations of our students.

Planned Giving Can Include:

Members

Anderson, Irene ’74 & Somes, James

Huddle, James ’70

Bergt, Dave ’60 & Jeannine Cohen, Frederick ’69

Ludlow-Ortner, Julia ’72 & Ortner, Robert

Cooper, Peter & Pamela

Muhl, Dick

Dennis, Thurman

Nichols, Kerry & Lynn

Downs, Vicky

‡Nicodemus, David ’33

‡Downs, Ray ’50

Proctor, David

Forgrieve, Bruce ’77

Shibata, Hideko ’66

Glazier, Kenneth ’67

‡Snyder, Ronald

Harada, Mary ’81

‡Sullivan, John

‡Harris, Frederick

Sundberg, Carl ’77

‡Haven, Robert

Suzuki, Chizu ’64

Hesselink, Ann ’71

Tunis, Jeffrey

‡Hoffsommer, Abigail ’27

Ware, Brent ’74

Jones-Morton, Pamela (PhD)

‡Hoffsommer, Walter ’29

• Simple bequests of funds • Gifts/bequests of stock or property •

‡ Deceased

a life insurance policy

• Charitable gift annuity • Charitable remainder trust ASIJ has been receiving planned gifts for more than 30 years, and throughout our school’s history there have been a number of alumni, former faculty/staff and alumni parents who have generously arranged to include ASIJ in their estate plans and leave a gift to our school.

Please contact the advancement information on making a bequest, or to request guidance on how to include ASIJ in your estate plans.

ASIJ has been part of my family since the 1930s, but it wasn’t until I became a teacher and was accepted as an ASIJ faculty member that I truly appreciated the level of expertise that the school expected and exhibited.

The quality of excellence that is woven into the fabric of ASIJ is a wonder to behold. To keep the level of performance at the peak of everyone’s expectation, support in all aspects is needed but most importantly in the financial areas.

Contributing to ASIJ through The Gate Society is a privilege because I know that ASIJ will be there to develop international citizens of the future.

—Pamela Jones-Morton, PhD Former Faculty

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When the COVID-19 pandemic took the world by surprise, possibly stay connected to our community of alumni around the world when so much of our engagement had traditionally been based on in-person events such as reunions and receptions? Fortunately, as platforms such as Zoom became more widely known and expanded their functions to meet the changing needs of socially-distanced communities, we saw an opportunity to not only stay engaged with our alumni community, but create events available to alums in different countries around the world simultaneously. And thus, the ASIJ Alumni Connect: Industry Meetup initiative was born.

As a brief refresher, Alumni Connect is a series of events in which alumni who share an interest in a particular industry

attend a panel presentation by a diverse group of fellow alumni followed by breakout rooms for small group discussions with the various panelists to make further connections and speak in depth about the topic. The relatively small scale of the events is a draw for many alums, as it provides the chance to get to know others on the call. “I enjoyed connecting to alumni interested in the industry and meeting every participant,” shared George Mimura ’83 of the most recent Alumni Connect: Industry Meetup, indicating that he would have liked even more time in the breakout rooms to discuss in a small group.

When we launched Alumni Connect, we had hoped that the format would make these events more accessible to ASIJ’s global alumni community by eliminating travel costs and minimizing the impact of differences in time zone.

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ALUMNI

Alumni Connect

seemed to encourage attendance by alums from across generations: for our most recent event on Medical Research, attendees ranged from graduates of the Class of ’55 to the Class in December 2020. With all attendees in the comfort of their homes speaking through their webcams, the barriers of location and age seem to break down. “(It’s) informative and inspiring to hear from other alums,” commented Jimmie Hanazawa ’92, who has attended several Alumni Connect events.

After the Spring 2021 issue of The Ambassador went to the year focusing on sustainability. Robert Redlinger ’81, who leads the Global Energy and Sustainability team at Apple, Dr Mirei Takashima Claremon ’00, founder and CEO of Illumirai, Robin Lewis ’06, co-founder of MyMizu, and Mana Saza ’14, the Global Coordinator for Mock COP26, led a lively discussion on environmental initiatives with insights from their various areas of experience. David Bonner ’64 described the event as “outstanding,” and panelist Robert Redlinger expressed surprise that, even as a panelist, the meetup helped him get in touch with former classmates, sharing, “It was nice that an old friend reconnected with me as a result of the event.”

While restrictions due to COVID-19 were the original driving force necessitating a change in how we handle alumni events,

October 7 centered around the topic of medical research, featuring Dr Noriko Iikuni-Saito ’89, a Senior Medical Director at Alexion Pharmaceuticals (AstraZeneca Rare Disease), and Serena Tamura ’08, an Autism Science Foundation fellow and Ahituv Lab PhD candidate in the Dept of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences at UCSF who, alongside her research, works as a Business Development Analyst at BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. The two spoke of their time at ASIJ, shared about their careers up until this point, and discussed their experiences in academia, research, and the pharmaceuticals industry.

Participants ranged from students looking into graduate programs for medical research to alums in adjacent industries

will launch as a pilot program with three cities (New York, San Francisco, and Tokyo). Over time we plan to expand the coverage to meet interest. It is our hope that through the various strands of the Alumni Connect program, we can further facilitate networking and connections throughout our community.

speaking to the group and learning about their interests. I

52

Next up, on December 10, we’ll be hosting an exciting session on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace. Jesper Edman ‘93, an associate professor at Waseda University studying diversity initiatives in Japanese companies, and Michael Minakawa ’03, a talent acquisition manager at Media Monks who develop diversity recruitment strategies and Emi Lea Kamemoto ’08, a DEI consultant with Farzana Nayani, will join ASIJ’s Deputy Head of School for Learning, Scott Wilcox, for a fascinating discussion about the changing landscape of DEI policy in various industries.

We also have another two meetups planned for later this year, so please stay tuned!

THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN

the services we offer our global alumni community. Building on the success of the Alumni Connect: Industry Meetups, we plan to introduce two new strands to the Alumni Connect program in the near future: Alumni Connect: Career Forum and Alumni Connect: City Network. Career Forum will consist of a series of posts to the ASIJ LinkedIn group featuring career-related content written by ASIJ alumni from various industries.

Alumni Connect: City Network will be a series of regional

When we launched Alumni Connect: Industry Meetups last December, we were uncertain how many alumni would be interested in virtual events in place of the traditional inperson receptions, reunions, and on-campus events. What we learned, however, is that conversely, virtual meetups and content allow us to connect with our extensive alumni population across a variety of diverse regions and industries.

We look forward to further expanding the program and enhancing alumni connections around the globe!

ALUMNI

Alumni Connect Join fellow alumni to share professional insights and make valuable career connections across the ASIJ community.

Our next event, focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace, will be held on December 10, 2021 at 10am JST (December 9 at 8pm EST, 5pm PST).

Looking to keep up with this fast-paced and ever-

Industry Meetup: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace

is an Associate Professor of International Management at Waseda University’s School of Commerce. His research focuses on the globalization strategies of Japanese companies, with a particular emphasis on issues related to environmental and social performance.

Jesper’s recent work examines DEI initiatives among retention. His work appears in academic journals such as the Journal of International Business Studies and the Journal of Management Studies, and he has over a decade of experience

serves as DEI Strategy and Human Resources consultant for Farzana Nayani Consulting & Training. In 2020, Emi co-founded Strong Asian Lead, the in Entertainment to ensure that Asian Americans don’t just have a seat at the table, but are collaborating on stories that accurately depict our diverse identities. As Human Resources Strategist and Learning & Development Executive at the Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Emi reviewed, designed, and implemented measurable competencies, ensuring inclusive hiring, training, and performance management practices were in place to recruit and retain employees with diverse experience and identities.

alumni interested in DEI? Participation couldn’t be easier.

Won’t you join us?

Register by scanning the QR code to the left or going to https://asij.ac.jp/alumni/connect-DEI

is a Senior Recruiter at ViacomCBS, corporation behind many well-known television programs such as CBS News, MTV, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central. He has previously served in recruitment roles at a variety of media-related organizations developing and executing diversity-related recruitment strategies among other areas of expertise, and describes that his goal as a recruiter is “to help build diverse and inclusive teams with Skidmore College after his time at ASIJ.

has served as the Deputy Heard of School for Learning at ASIJ since August 2019. He began his career as a high school social studies teacher and later taught PE, math, and Humanities in grades 3–12. Scott received his BA in Government from Harvard University and an MEd from the University of Missouri. He has held various leadership positions in schools in the United States, Taiwan and Dubai. Scott is responsible for steering much of ASIJ’s work on DEI and has coordinated the school’s Anti-Racism Advisory Group and multiple professional learning opportunities for faculty and staff with experts in

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Alumni Impact Award With a wide and diverse community of more than 15,000 alumni living across the globe, it’s no wonder that ASIJ boasts some of the most accomplished alumni around. With people like renowned architect , former US Ambassador to Japan and Harvard professor , Oscar-winning actress , and women’s rights advocate in some of our earliest graduating classes, our alumni have a long history of making a positive impact on a wide variety of industries and causes worldwide. excited to announce our inaugural ASIJ Alumni Impact Award!

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Nominations The nominations committee is looking forward to selecting recipients from the many alumni contributing to their chosen industries and causes worldwide, but we can’t do it without the help of the greater ASIJ community. We are asking for the input of alumni and their parents, current and former faculty and staff, current families — anyone with ties to ASIJ — to make sure that we have the largest pool of deserving nominees as possible. Please take a glance at the nomination criteria below, and then submit your nominations through the form at the QR code below.

Criteria • Any member of the ASIJ community can make nominations. Self-nominations are welcome.

The Alumni Impact Award will be presented annually to recognize distinguished alumni who have made a

• Nominations should be submitted through the form at the QR code below. To be considered eligible for the award, a complete nomination form must be submitted.

advancement, the arts, etc). With so many impressive ASIJ

• Any student who attended ASIJ for more than one semester is considered an alumnus/a and is eligible for the Award.

to honor them and amplify their accomplishments.

• During each award cycle, at least one award shall be given, and multiple awards may be given.

“For anyone visiting ASIJ, one of the most enduring memories of their visit is the depth and breadth of outstanding biographies of those featured on the Alumni Wall in the reception area,” Director of Institutional Advancement Clive Watkins shares. “These alumni are inspiring not only to visitors, but of course to our current students. And yet, we have no formal way of identifying these stories about our alumni. We know that many of our former students are out there making a real difference in the world, and we want to know about them and celebrate them. So this new award is not only about recognizing the important work of our alumni, but inspiring future generations of Mustangs.”

Alumni Coordinator Miranda Liu agrees. “It’s been really exciting to learn about so many amazing alumni and their accomplishments through this project,” she expressed upon reviewing the nominations already beginning to come in.

Miranda is in the process of working with the Alumni Council to ensure the success of the award in its inaugural year. “It’s really great to be a part of this new initiative,” commented , current president of the Alumni Council.

“We’re really excited to honor alums making a difference around the world!”

• Nominations must be submitted by January 31 each year.

Selection Criteria • The award shall be given annually in late spring to one or more alumni who, following their time at • Further, the recipient will be awarded to alumni who or pursuit.

• avenues of achievement, and methods of expression represented amongst our alumni.

•

ASIJ shall not be a factor in the Committee’s

• Current members of the ASIJ Alumni Council are not eligible for consideration.

• Candidates may be considered during multiple award cycles. Once a candidate is nominated, his

https://asij.ac.jp/ alumni/award

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ALUMNI

Class Agents

Classes pre-1955 and those noted below need class agents. Please contact alumni@asij.ac.jp if you are interested.

1955 1956

William L. Cryderman wcryderman@comcast.net Mei Sun Li meisunli@comcast.net Sandra L. Maclver Thompson sandra.thompson3@comcast.net

1957

Charles C. Wu wucc57@gmail.com

1958

Class Agent Required

1959

Class Agent Required

1960 1961 1962 1963

David E. Bergt dbergt@comcast.net Class Agent Required Katherine C. Bauernschmidt Clarke kcbclarke@gmail.com William L. Martino txmartino@yahoo.com Nancy Wu naninvan@me.com

1964

56

David Bonner dbonner@regenevita.com

THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN

1965

1966 1967 1968

Scott Hutchinson jshutch47@gmail.com Susan Broe Parmelee Sparmelee2@gmail.com

1975

Annie Nichols Campbell campbell.annie@gmail.com

1976

Grenda F. Penhollow Moss grendamoss@yahoo.com

1977

Nicholas D. Connor ndconnor@yahoo.com

1978

David T. Sakamoto dave.sakamoto@infoontheweb.com

1969 1970 1971 1972 1973

1974

Laura B. Hertenstein Swanson laura@swanson.com Daniel Garnitz dangar46@yahoo.com Kathy K. Kobata kkobata21@gmail.com Linda Suzukawa-Tseng sutseng@wonder.ocn.ne.jp Class Agent Required

1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984

Class Agent Required Reiko E. Niimi rniimi@gmail.com Elizabeth M. Yanagihara Horwitz liz@lizhorwitz.com Carl E. Sundberg carl_sundberg_ja@yahoo.com Deanna Adams Smith deannasmith1959@gmail.com Cheryl Wise shareallwise@gmail.com Margaret Meiers margaretmeiers@yahoo.com Sherry L. Davis Tighe tighezoo@sbcglobal.net Lisa Bastick omalasq@mac.com George Mimura georgemimura@yahoo.com Judith Walsh Baumhover baumhover@earthlink.net

ALUMNI

1985 1986 1987 1988

Sandra L. Orton Tweed sandra@prestonmatthews.com Diane E. Stewart Wack diwack@msn.com Robert L. Sharp robert@robertsharp.com Sergei P. Hasegawa sergei@purekitchen.com Kathrine L. Schmitt Simon schm0495@gold.tc.umn.edu

1989

Linnea M. Hasegawa tamagomeshi@yahoo.com Samantha Fritz Hurd samf@austin.rr.com

1990 1991 1992 1993

Kentaro K. Relnick krelnick@me.com Maiko Galles maikomizutani@hotmail.com Daniel Brandt dbrandttennis@gmail.com Katherine S. Sakuma Moore ktsakuma@yahoo.com McMahon T. Reid homereid@mit.edu

1994

Midori Kano mkano128@gmail.com Margaret R. MacCallum margaretreiko@gmail.com

1995 1996 1997

Yuki P. Maddox Vos pearlvos@hotmail.com Hisashi A. Shimizu sunny_shimizu@hotmail.com

1998

Class Agents

Rose E. Hastings rosehastings@gmail.com Kacie E. Rosenberg Leviton kacie_r@hotmail.com

1999

Naomi D. Hayase naomidhayase@gmail.com

Sarah Godfrey sgodfrey617@gmail.com

2011

2012

2001

2013

Kyoko Minegishi kyoko.minegishi@gmail.com

Mitsuhiko Tsukimoto moonbook@gmail.com

2014

2004 Jason Mothersill

2015

jasonmothersill@gmail.com

2005 Tatsuya Izumi

izumtat@gmail.com

2006 Tai Dirkse

tdirkse@asij.ac.jp Mana Sasaki Kalohelani mkalohelani@gmail.com

2007 Carly Baird

baird.carly@gmail.com Rosalind E. Onions rosalind.onions@gmail.com

2008 Miles Bird

miles.t.bird@gmail.com

Ashley Teslik ashleyteslik@gmail.com

Akira Camargo akiracamargo01@gmail.com

Mina F. Hattori minahattori@me.com Haruka Higo jjriko@aol.com

2016 2017

Ray M. Hotta ray.hotta@yahoo.com Allessandra Rogers rogeal01@luther.edu Andy Takagi andy.takagi@gmail.com

2018 2019

Hikari Shumsky hikarishumsky@gmail.com Kenichiro Bernier b.kenichiro@gmail.com

2020 Arman Balian

armanbalian@me.com Celine Maeda-Tarumoto celinemaedatarumoto@gmail.com

2009 Caitlin E. McHose

caitlin.mchose@gmail.com

Lia Camargo lollia1108@gmail.com

Sayuri Sekimitsu sayurisekimitsu@gmail.com

2003 Tyler Beesley

tyler_beesley@hotmail.com

Seung Joon Sung sjsung94@gmail.com

Andrew Deck andrewdeck227@gmail.com

2002 Anna L. Tuttle Delia

annalynnosu@gmail.com

Hannah T. Siegel hannahtsiegel@gmail.com Philip T. Tseng philtseng7@gmail.com

2000 Gary T. Yamada

gtyamada@gmail.com

Janet H. Kanzawa janet.kanzawa@gmail.com Kana Maeji kanamaeji12@gmail.com

Tamina M. Plum taminaplum@gmail.com

jemilsatt05@gmail.com Vicky (Carter) Chen vickycarter@hotmail.com

2010

2021

Karen Fukuda karenfukuda16@gmail.com Joshua Inahara inaharaj3@gmail.com

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Artifact This scrapbook covers the period 1925–36 and includes a variety of newspaper cuttings, tickets, and The Importance of Being Earnest by the junior and senior class from 1925. The show was staged at the Imperial Hotel Auditorium, which many clippings reporting the success of a performance of The Bells, staged by the Tokyo Amateur Dramatic US Ambassador Edgar Bancroft, Prince Tokugawa and other members of the Japanese nobility.

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Obituaries

Sayonara passed away on September

school in 1969. In 1974 Kathy received her Bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Connecticut. She continued her studies at Ithaca College, where she obtained her Master’s degree in music education in 1981.

as a music educator. Her career spanned four countries, with appointments at ASIJ, Victoria Teachers College, and HC Crittenden Middle School, among others.

During her time at ASIJ from 1996–2001, Kathy taught elementary school music and is remembered by many for leading the Elementary School Choir and being involved with the drama program. In the words of Elementary School music teacher Jody Fuller, who worked closely with Kathy, “she was a musician and music educator whose creativity

knew no bounds. Her music classes were rich with creative and artistic experiences that made music-making joyful and memorable. Students danced, sang, improvised and found joy in making and experiencing music.”

choirs, to whom she taught the fundamentals of singing — pitch matching, breathing, posture, and diction. She enjoyed staging creative choir performances several times during the school year, and was always coming up with innovative choral choreography, incorporating hand gestures, and using props. She was highly involved in holiday celebrations, such as Chinese New Year, where she led the fourth grade students in a lion dance complete with paper mâché lion heads, and Halloween, where the Elementary School Choir kicked off the parade with several spooky songs. She brought a friend from Ghana to share Ghanaian culture practices or music and dance, and added a musical dimension to the second graders’ Africa unit.

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Obituaries , known as York, passed away in Old Greenwich, CT, on September 4, 2021. After growing up in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, York graduated from Manhattanville College in 1960 and attended Georgetown University as a graduate fellow in European History. After graduation, York began a 20-year career with Business International

Kathy with her daughter Nina Shelhart Sayers ’09

A more recent photo of Kathy

Kathy also made friends throughout the ASIJ community with whom she remained in contact for many years— Elementary School Administrative Associate Aileen Kanoh remembers her fondly as “a super nice and friendly person with a great smile,” and Jody shared that, “She had a happy smile and lovely manner.”

Kathy loved instruments of all sorts, and played the violin, viola, cello, bass, and guitar, as well as various woodwinds and brass instruments and percussion of all types, including but not limited to dulcimer, gamelan, taiko drums,and gongs. She had specialized in strings in university and studied cello seriously with noted teachers in New York before her time at ASIJ. During her time in Japan, Kathy studied under the renowned Shinichi Suzuki, founder of the international Suzuki method of music education, and was a sought-after music teacher when she lived in the United States. At ASIJ, “her innate attention to detail and precision in her music making inspired her students to reach higher than they ever thought they could go,” Jody shared. Members of the ASIJ Elementary School community from that time particularly remember her lively guitar and piano performances brightening the school, and the impressive numbers on the xylophone and other percussion instruments that her students performed under her tutelage. Her devotion and hope that music could and should touch every child’s heart and soul motivated her life as a music educator.

Kathy traveled broadly throughout Asia, Europe, South America, and New Zealand, where she met her future husband, David Sayers (AP ’95–01). They relocated to Nina. They had their second child, Michael, while in Tokyo before settling in Westchester, NY, where Kathy continued to explore, grow, and support others even after her divorce. Kathy is survived by her daughter Nina Shelhart Sayers ’09 and son Michael Sayers.

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abroad. In 1968, she married Frederick Lloyd Baker, III were born. York relocated to the United States for almost ten years in 1974, before returning to Tokyo in 1983, at which time she put her business talents to use by co-founding the relocation company Tokyo Orientations, which is still employed by many expats to assist with their moves to Japan today, with friends. During this time, she served both on the Board of Trustees and as the PTA president at ASIJ. She returned to the US for good in 1989 and began an 18-year tenure in development at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, CT. Her achievements as the Director of Development were recognized when she won an award for women’s commitments to philanthropy from the YWCA in 2006. After retiring, York served as a volunteer at the Greenwich library until 2021. York is

passed away in Bellevue, WA, on December 6, 2020. Born in Whitehorse, YT, Canada, Stu also lived in Fairbanks, AK, and Redwood City, CA, before moving to Tokyo and spending his school years from 1954–61 at ASIJ. After graduating high school, Stu went on to major in Japanese studies at International Christian University in Tokyo, and maintained a lifelong education at the University of Michigan and embarked on a variety of business ventures leading to the founding of San Francisco Seamaster, of which he was the proud owner and CEO at the time of his death. Stu traveled around Asia and Europe often through his youth. He enjoyed inventing, and was the holder of two patents.

He is survived by his sisters Carol Zukerman ’72 and Lee Anne Bennett ’69, and his brother John Bennett ’59.

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passed away on August 20, 2021 in Allen, TX, at the age of 71. She was born in Granite Falls, MN, but grew up in Japan and attended ASIJ from 1961–63 and again from 1964–68. The daughter of a missionary family, Trudy during her time in Tokyo.

After returning to the United States, she married Richard ballet through her work in wardrobe for the Chamberlain Ballet in Texas for 30 years. Trudy also loved soccer and volunteered at the Dallas Cup soccer tournament for many

John, and many grandchildren.

passed away on August 16, 2021. Born in 1929 in a small town in Switzerland called Ebnat-Kappel, Guido left for Asia to pursue his business as an entrepreneur in 1952. He met his wife Toni in Kobe in 1954 before moving to Tokyo in the early 1960s where his children attended ASIJ until 1973. Guido is survived by his twin children, Cristina Sindicic-Cherubini ’76 and Remo Cherubini ’76.

passed away on January 30, 2017.

Mary’s year in Japan at the Meguro Campus was one of the highlights of her life. She was voted wittiest female student of her class, and often recounted memories of her friends and adventures there, particularly her lifelong served as a volunteer troop leader and later as Neighborhood Chairman for the Conococheague neighborhood. Interred at Lincoln Cemetery in Chambersburg, PA, Mary is survived by her husband Joe, two daughters, and three granddaughters.

Obituaries passed away from pneumonia on August 14, 2021. Born in California, Mary was the eldest daughter of the bishop of Koyasan Buddhist Temple in Los Angeles and the older sister of renowned entertainment producer Johnny Kitagawa. As a middle schooler, she traveled back to Japan with her family at the start of World War II, and returned to the United States post-war to complete high school and college. When she was 28 years old, Mary made her way back to Japan to work with the Indonesian Delegation alongside her brother, Johnny, who worked at the American Embassy. She once again returned to the United States a few years later to pursue her passion as a designer and found a job producing neckties and other apparel. However, she realized that she enjoyed her time in Japan more and came back permanently. Mary helped her younger brother to found a management agency for Johnny’s musical acts, Johnny & Associates, Inc., and went on to handle the business side of the agency that came to be well known for producing musical groups such as SMAP, Arashi, and KAT-TUN. Many years later, her daughter Julie ’84 went on to become the president of J Storm, Inc., a subsidiary of Johnny & Associates and the record label responsible for the production of a number of the agency’s popular acts. Mary was the honorary chairwoman of Johnny & Associates at the time of her passing. She is survived by her daughter Julie ’84 and her granddaughter Sarah ’22, who shared, “She was truly one of the most hardworking women I have ever met, and her constant pursuit to create better entertainment was inspiring.”

who attended ASIJ for one year in 1949–50 passed away on November 18, 2018.

passed away on October 26th, 2020. Chuck and his family moved senior international partner with Deloitte and Touche. In this position he was the lead audit partner for all multinational companies in Europe, Asia, Japan, and North and South America. He also advised many companies on opening

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including the states of California and Colorado. During this time, he served on the board of a variety of international organizations in Tokyo, including the Tokyo American Club.

Obituaries class reunions after graduation. He is remembered for his love of cooking, as well as his love of people and wonderful sense of humor. Tom is survived by his wife Barbara and his daughters Olivia and Belinda.

Heather Schmidt, Ashley Johns, and Denver Hoskins of

passed away in her home in Dallas, TX, on September 6, 2021. Born in Lakewood, OH, Sharon graduated from Ohio State University with a BS in Elementary Education in 1967. Shortly thereafter, she married Larry G. James and moved to Dallas, TX, where Larry began his career with Texas Instruments (TI) and Sharon taught kindergarten. She gave birth to two sons: Keith James ’93 and David James ’95. Over the course of her married life, Sharon managed her family’s 13 moves around the country and the world, mostly for Larry’s career with TI, including to Tokyo, where the family lived and Keith and David attended ASIJ for seven years between 1987–93.

Keith ’93, son David ’95 and his wife Cara Singer James ’95.

passed away on Tuesday, October 13, 2020 in Owego, NY. A registered nurse, Mae worked in South Korea, Germany, and all across the United States. She also spent time in the Congo and Japan as a Presbyterian missionary. Mae loved the outdoors and raised a garden in each of the many places she resided over the course of her life. She is survived by her husband of 50 years, Edwin Enhong Kang, her son Jayoung ’88 and daughters Jane ’90 and Michelle ’91.

passed away on September 2, 2021.

Tom spent three years at ASIJ, from sophomore to senior year, and was a key member of the wrestling team, where he heavyweight class in the Far East championships in 1972.

He enjoyed his social life at ASIJ and made many life-long friends, meeting yearly with classmates and organizing

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passed away at his home in Salt Lake City, UT, on January 17, 2021 from natural causes.

After his time at ASIJ, Gary returned to Utah and graduated from the Utah College of Massage Therapy and worked as a licensed massage therapist. Outside of work, he was also involved in the Buddhist Temple in Salt Lake City.

passed away from complications from cancer on September 26, 2021.

A lover of art, nature, qigong, and martial arts, Ssu-I was a teacher of the Sogetsu School belt practitioner of tai chi with the Beijing Tai Chi and Kung Fu Academy. She enjoyed writing and poetry, and composed her own poems and children’s stories. Ssu-I is survived by her sons Daniel and James and their families.

passed away on the morning of June 22, 2021 due to a subarachnoid hemorrhage. After graduating from Oregon State University with a degree in science and business administration, Ken

position at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc, where he served as a manager in equity trading. He is survived by his brother Ko, wife Yumi, and children Runa, Kiichiro ’16, and Ryo ’19. The son of Ki Nimori (FF ’60–02), the iconic art teacher whose career spanned 42 years at ASIJ, Ken was a long-time member of the ASIJ community. He and his brother Ko both graduated from ASIJ, and as a result, had friends all over the world. “The Nimoris are very thankful for all the condolence messages we have received,” Ko shared, adding that “many ASIJ friends attended [Ken’s] memorial service” held on

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passed away at age 92 on August 24, 2021 in Newark, DE. She was born in Honolulu, HI, and earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Hawaii. Mary spent 10 years as from 1958–69, during which time she met and married former head of school Bill Ricketson (FF ’61–77) and gave birth to Laura Ricketson Casalvera ’86. After leaving Japan in 1977, Mary moved with her family to Delaware where she served as a tutor for Japanese families who came to Delaware with the DuPont Company. Aside from teaching, Ikebana. She was a member of Ikebana International in Delaware where she served as the president of the Ikebana International Philadelphia Chapter for a term. Mary is survived by her daughter Laura and her family.

passed away on June 23, 2021 in Ottawa, Canada. She is survived by her brothers Barry and John ’73, and her sister Amber ’75.

passed away on October 20, 2021. Born in Chicago to Dutch immigrant parents, Leone graduated early due to the outbreak of WWII in 1944 from Saint Willabroad Catholic School. She met and married Ross Smith, a returning WWII navy veteran, while attending DuPaul University. Shortly thereafter, they moved to California, where Leone raised her State University, Hayward. In 1969 Leone and her family moved to Japan, where she taught elementary school science and three of her four children attended ASIJ. After the unfortunate and untimely passing of her daughter Kerry Smith ’70 and the end of her marriage shortly thereafter, Leone and her family returned to the States where Leone was employed by Contra Costa County in California, eventually working her way up to the role of Contra Costa

Obituaries met her second husband, Richard “Pat” Boyle there, and the two were married for 25 years before Pat passed away.

Leone was 75 years old when she met her third partner, Rod Sadly, Rod passed away in 2014 after struggling with serious health problems. Leone returned to Walnut Creek, CA, to be closer to her family before moving to a retirement home, where she became a 91-year-old welcome ambassador who worked out daily, and often played impromptu piano concerts for her fellow residents. Sadly, Leone sustained a serious injury from a series of falls in her early 90s, leading to her passing. She is survived by her children Michele Smith, Ross Smith ’73, and Matthew Smith ’79.

, known as Maggi, passed away in April 2019 in Milledgeville, GA. Born in Fairbanks, AK, Maggi spent much of her young childhood in California before moving to Japan in 1954. She attended ASIJ with her siblings from that year until 1964, when her family moved to Kabul, Afghanistan. It was there that she met her future husband, Sgt. Guy Stephen Stoner, who was stationed in Kabul with the US Army. After marrying, the couple lived together in Italy and Germany as well as a wide variety of states around the US. After her husband’s retirement, the couple settled in Milledgeville, GA, where Maggi worked with international students at Georgia College & State University. Maggi is survived by her sons William and

passed away in October 2021.

She attended ASIJ for three years in high school along with her siblings Robert Wyland ’78 and Elizabeth Shively ’76.

In the obituary for in the last issue of The Ambassador we published an incorrect date for his passing. Robert passed away on May 26, 2020 in Boynton Beach, FL.

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The Big Short Big questions, Short answers both graduated from the school.

Where are you from?

Northwest of the United States.

Washington area.

What kind of student were you in school?

I was a decent student that liked to sit in the back of the room. I liked all of the subjects in school, but I especially liked science.

Why did you choose to go into education?

Education is a second career for me.

I was a businessman for many years but my family encouraged me to give teaching a try since I really liked working with kids as I coached sports and volunteered to help out at school whenever possible. It was scary to make such a big career change but I don’t regret it one bit.

If you weren’t a teacher, what would you do?

I would probably do a job that gets me outside in nature. Maybe I would be a backcountry park ranger, work for the forest service, or be a hiking,

What advice do you give your students?

Have fun on the weekends, make sure you have some balance in life.

You have to study, have fun, sleep in, spend time with family and friends, laugh, be active and then if there is a bit more time, study. You will do great things wherever you go, no matter what, because it is the effort and attitude that matters most.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

That’s a question you should ask my students. I’m sure there are many...

Which talent would you most like to have?

I wish I could sing and play the guitar.

Unfortunately, I can’t do either.

Who are your favorite writers?

David Coggins (The Optimist) and Matt Christopher (The Lucky Baseball Bat, The Kid Who Only Hit Homers)

Which living person do you most admire?

As mentioned above — President Obama When and where were you happiest?

I love being in the classroom with my students but I guess I am most happy when I’m with family and friends and Who are your heroes in real life?

My heroes are people who have overcome or are working to overcome hardships in life and people who work to help others.

My mom is my biggest hero.

near future.

What is your favorite thing about ASIJ? The people that I encounter everyday, especially the students.

What is your favorite thing about Japan?

Japan is one of the safest, cleanest countries in the world that has so many experiences, culturally and otherwise, to offer. I have so many things that I love about Japan so it’s hard to pick just one.

Illustration by Olivia Hertrick THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN

or infamous mark on the world or humanity. So far, I’ve done neither, I think, so this is hard to answer.

However, I do admire Dr Martin Luther King and President Obama.

What is your most treasured possession?

wildlife biologist back in my home state of Washington would be a lot of fun too, I think.

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most identify with?

Hmmm, I don’t really identify with

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