The Ambassador. Fall, 2024

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

Fall/Winter 2024

LOIS LOWRY ’54

2024 ASIJ Alumni Impact Award Recipient

SOFÍA MARIA BOSCH ’16 ASIJ Young Alumni Changemaker Award

The American School in Japan

MATTHEW GOODMAN ’73 The career of a Broadway clarinetist

JUDY ONGG ’69

Multi-talented artist returns to campus

Stay Connected

It’s all about connections... ... that’s why our alumni portal is designed to make it easier than ever for you to stay in touch with us and your fellow ASIJers around the globe. Mustangs Online is a dynamic site for alums, alumni parents and former faculty packed with news, information about upcoming events and reunions, photo galleries, internship and job opportunities, and directory. It also hosts digital copies of yearbooks going back to 1919, past issues of The Ambassador magazine and a selection of Hanabi articles and content from the archive.

To make the most of this service, we’ll need your email so we can send you information and help you get started. If we don’t already have your up-to-date email, please take a moment to drop us a line at alumni@asij.ac.jp.

Our Alumni Services Alumni Directory Alumni Portal Regional Alumni Connect Networks Regional Receptions Class Reunions ASIJ Alumni Connect Industry Meetups Internship & Job Listings ASIJ Alumni Impact Award ASIJ Young Alumni Changemaker Award The Ambassador Magazine Monthly Newsletter Yearbook Archive Transcript Services

Don’t miss out! Contact us: alumni@asij.ac.jp https://asij.ac.jp/alumni (+81) 0422-34-5300 ext 710

Follow us on social media: asij_official asijtokyo asij the-american-school-in-japan

In this Issue Features

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Telling Stories out of school

Alumni Impact Award winner Lois Lowry ’54 reflects on her childhood in Japan

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Young Changemaker Award

Bilingual education Sofía Maria Bosch ’16

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Strength and Courage Award

Sami Torii ’24 on resilience and the power of positive words

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Phantom Notes

Matthew Goodman ’73 on his long Broadway career

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Sunny Side Up

39

Mustang Mentor

Judy Ongg ’69 returns to campus with a TV crew in tow

Remembering coach Bill Jacobsson

More 03 \\ ASIJ Highlights 27 \\ Giving Impact 43 \\ Alumni Reunions 52 \\ Alumni Connect Events 53 \\ Reunion Round-up 55 \\ Upcoming Reunions 56 \\ Class Agents 57 \\ Sayonara 64 \\ Artifact

Chief Advancement Officer Anne Cunningham Director of Communications Matt Wilce Director of Giving Nikki Torchon Alumni Coordinator Isabella Rogovin Data Specialist Catherine Iwata Digital Communications Officer Zelda Edmunds Graphic Designer Johnson Lin Graphic Designer Anwar Suhaimi Student Design Intern Niko Sano ’25 Cover Illustrator Reina Kato ’25

Editorial Inquiries communications@asij.ac.jp alumni@asij.ac.jp — The American School in Japan 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

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ASIJ

Highlights

ARTS

Elevating Technique, Inspiring Talent

On October 7th, ASIJ’s music students experienced a memorable master class, hosted by esteemed guest musicians from Taiwan. Dr Vincent Heng-Chen Chao, currently a Professor of Violin at National Chiayi University and National Taiwan Normal University, led the session with a focus on refining students’ violin techniques. Dr Chao, a renowned expert in both chamber music and orchestral performance, holds advanced degrees from The Juilliard School and the University of Maryland-College Park. His impressive career has included performances at iconic venues worldwide, including New York’s Carnegie Hall, Washington DC's Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress, and Tokyo’s Suntory Hall. His extensive background in international performance and education made him an invaluable mentor for the young musicians.

Joining him was celebrated cellist Tsao-Lun Lu, a Juilliard graduate who later earned a graduate degree from Yale. Lu’s distinguished career includes performances with ensembles

such as the Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra, the World Civic Orchestra, the New England Symphonic Ensemble, and the Kaohsiung City Symphony Orchestra. His expertise in ensemble and solo performance brought an additional layer of depth to the master class.

The master class encompassed several core areas of musicianship, including audition preparation, solo performance techniques, and ensemble collaboration. Students practiced these skills under the guidance of the visiting musicians, which not only honed their technical abilities but also deepened their musical understanding and interpretive skills. Students were also treated to solo performances by the visiting artists, which provided a firsthand glimpse into the artistry and skill of the professional musicians. This special opportunity was facilitated by our music teachers Maddie Moll and Cindy Lu and supported by the PTA.

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ASIJ

Highlights

ARTS

The Lightning Thief This year’s middle school musical, The Lightning Thief, brought song, dance, thunder and lightning (of course) to the stage. From the cast and crew of talented middle schoolers, to numerous faculty, parent volunteers, and high school mentors managing the sound, lighting and it takes a community to bring Percy Jackson’s world to life.

Congratulations to all involved for another magical experience.

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ATHLETICS

ARTS

CULTURE

Sports Day

Checking In

The Big Dig

Akagumi! Shirogumi! Ganbare! The red and white teams gave their all on the field at elementary undokai sports day in October as they battled it out for the win. The ELC kinder students joined their buddies at Chofu to make the teams even bigger this year. It was so much fun that the parents even got in on the tug of war action. Go Mustangs!

This year’s high school fall play saw a variety of hotel guests comedic struggles in Checking In. The innovative set gave audiences a peek into the lives of the hotel staff and their often unruly customers, leading to laughs throughout.

Imohori, or sweet potato digging, is a favorite fall tradition and this year our ELC students continued their practice of heading down to the farm to ferret for potatoes in the dirt. At the Chofu Campus, the Kindergarteners harvested their imo from our own potato patch. It was hands-on learning at its muddiest!

THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN

ASIJ

Highlights

ATHLETICS

YUJO Tournament Schools from around Japan and the region came to campus in October to battle it out in the YUJO Volleyball Tournament. Both our boys and girls teams played hard with roaring support from the home crowds and our girls team finished as tournament champions. See their journeys through the tournament on our YouTube @asij.

CAMPUS

LEARNING

CAMPUS

Mustang Market

The Write Stuff

SDC Turns 50

ASIJ’s new Mustang Market opened in August with a stylish revamp of the old Bookstore space. The new spiritwear designs and additional product lines — including traditional items made by Japanese artisans — have proved to be a big hit. Check it out next time you are on campus.

Bestselling author Neal Shusterman spent four days talking to our middle and high schoolers about writing.

Known for his thought-provoking novels such as Scythe and Unwind, Neal shared his journey as a writer, insights on storytelling, and the inspiration behind his incredible books.

It was a big anniversary year for the Summer Day Camp, which turned fifty this year. Campus was packed during its four one-week sessions despite the blistering Tokyo heat.

Thank you to the many generations of camp counselors who have made this enduring program a success.

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ASIJ

Highlights

ARTS

Kyogen: Future Award

Edison ’25 and Reina ’25 accept the Future Award on stage in Kyoto (Photo by Niko Sano ’25) Two brothers, masters of Kyogen, sit stage-side in the ASIJ theater. Dressed in the traditional kamishimo, a two-part Edo-period outfit of kataginu (top) and hakama (pants), they wait for students to arrive for after-school practice. As a few high schoolers trickle in, early arrivals, the two look back on a family legacy and a long-standing ASIJ tradition. Yasutaro Yamamoto and his younger brother Noritaka Yamamoto have trained in Kyogen since they were toddlers—the fifth generation of their family to uphold the ancient artform.

They also continue a unique collaboration that began with their father and an ASIJ teacher four decades ago.

A scene from the 2024 Kyogen performance

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“Kyogen is an intangible national treasure, and it is an honor to give these students such a deep experience—something they cannot have outside of Japan,” Yasutaro Yamamoto and his younger brother Noritaka Yamamoto told us as they reflected on their family’s long history of teaching the ancient theater form to ASIJ students. The stories told through Kyogen are based on minutia of everyday life and human shortcomings that are given comedic twists, separating it from the more serious Noh Theater from which it developed.

ASIJ

Highlights

Members of the Kyogen club who traveled to Kyoto with Japan Center Co-Director Kyoko Takano (P ’07, ’10), Mariko Nakamura (P ’29). Tamami and Eri Suzuki (P ’25), and Japanese teacher Tomoko Nakai (Photo by Niko Sano ’25)

In recognition of the ongoing impact of the program started by their father and former faculty member Don Berger in 1978, ASIJ’s current Kyogen Club members were proud to receive the Future Award from the Classical Japanese Culture Foundation Awards Committee this September.

Fourteen members of the club traveled to Kyoto for the day for the award ceremony presided over by Princess Akiko at the Kyoto Concert Hall. Club leaders Edison Suzuki ’25 and Reina Radnor ’25, dressed in hakama and kimono, took the stage with Japan Center Kyoko Takano for the presentation.

After a video presentation of the Kyogen program, they received the award and made their acceptance speeches in Japanese before a short question and answer session with the emcee. Other award winners included NHK for the show 100 Masterpieces of Literature, two groups from Ishikawa prefecture who are preserving local festival traditions and lacquer production following the devastating earthquake there in January, a middle school traditional arts program from Yunomae in Kyushu, the Reizei Family Shigure-tei Library, and young Noh performer Shizuka Mikata.

“Being an ASIJ student, it's easy to lose connection with the local culture, but through Kyogen, I was able to reestablish my connection with my culture. I believe that culture is all about being human, and that having that connection is vital” Edison told us. It is a sentiment shared with former member of the club Sakiko Miyazaki ’20 who told us she hadn't really experienced Japanese culture as much as she would have liked growing up and traditional Japanese culture especially.

“It often feels inaccessible, but once I started Kyogen, I realized just how prevalent and modern it could be. It was a way for me to kind of reconnect with Japanese culture.”

In receiving the award, ASIJ recognizes the many performers, teachers, and volunteers who have kept this unique program alive and the impact it has had on generations of our students.

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Lois Lowry ’54 at ASIJ in 1998

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Telling Stories out of School Matt Wilce speaks to Lois Lowry ‘54, recipient of the 2024 ASIJ Alumni Impact Award, about her childhood in Japan and its impact on her writing.

L

ois Hammersberg Lowry ‘54, the acclaimed author known for captivating young readers with her thoughtprovoking novels such as The Giver, Number the Stars, and The Messenger, recently added the 2024 ASIJ Alumni Impact Award to her many accolades in recognition of her contribution to the world of literature. She joins previous recipients pioneering spinal surgeon Wise Young ‘68 and ALS campaigner Hiro Fujita ‘98 in accepting this recognition from the alumni community. A two-time winner of the prestigious Newbery Medal, Lowry attended ASIJ from 1948-50, a period when the school, much like Japan itself, was rebuilding after the Second World War. Lowry’s ability to tackle complex themes with grace and sensitivity has earned her a dedicated readership worldwide, solidifying her place as a celebrated figure in children's literature. We spoke with Lois earlier this year, about her experiences of life in post-war Japan and how her time abroad may have shaped her writing career.

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Lois during her childhood in Tokyo (courtesy of Lois Lowry) How did reality match that expectation?

Lois in the library during her 1998 visit

You moved to Tokyo as a middle schooler — what was that experience like? Were you upset that your family was going to Japan?

I was living at that time in Pennsylvania, the town where my grandparents were, because my father had gone off to the war. He was in the Pacific during the war, and then he was in Japan with the occupation. And so my mother had taken the children back to the little town where she had grown up and where our grandparents were. And I went through elementary school there. And then when I was in sixth grade, we got word from Tokyo that they were going to allow us to come over and join my father. I turned 11 at the end of sixth grade and I was very excited about that — it seemed like an adventure to me, and I was looking forward to new experiences and learning new things. And of course, I assumed, wrongly, that I would immediately be able to speak Japanese and I would be wearing Japanese clothes and eating with chopsticks.

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We ended up in Washington Heights, which was sor t of a fake American village. My sister [Helen Hammersberg ’51] was three years older, she was 14, she had a boyfriend. She didn’t want to leave Pennsylvania, so it was a very different experience for her. It was probably tougher for teenagers to make a move like that, but at 11, I was very open to that experience. One thing that came as a blow to me, being a bookish child, was that I was not going to be able to take my books with me. I had a bookcase in my bedroom filled with my favorite books at that time. But when I got to Tokyo, it wasn't very long before I discovered two libraries, one in Washington Heights was a small library. But the second, and this probably no longer exists, was called the Ernie Pyle Library. Ernie Pyle had been the journalist who was killed the last week of the war and there was a big building in downtown Tokyo and the library that it housed was okay. And there were all the books I had loved back in Pennsylvania. They were still there. I couldn't own them anymore and hug them, but I could read them again. And that meant so much to me and interestingly.

This seems surprising now in retrospect, but … I was allowed as a child of 11 when I arrived, to take a bus into Tokyo, into the city, into the Ernie Pyle Library by myself and that was quite safe at that time — and it may still be …

I roamed that city. Of course, it was not the skyscrapers that it is now, much of it was still rubble from the bombing, but it was a very safe and to me, an interesting place to explore.

I just remember it very, very fondly.

The Eight-II Class pictured in the 1950 Chochin, Lois is wearing a headscarf, second from left

What was your experience once you started school?

It was 1948, but to me, it feels like yesterday. Unfortunately — and this happened to me a number of times in my life being a military child — I arrived at a new school as a new student after school had already started … I know that my homeroom teacher [Mrs Fullerton] in seventh grade was the daughter of a military general. So she was a military person, too. My science teacher was a woman from New Jersey. Why do I remember that? How did I even know she was from New Jersey? And her name was Gertrud Wettstein. Science was not my thing, I was a good student of English and literature — I was a good student in all my classes, but science wasn't my top interest. And yet she made it interesting for me.

Did you get to connect with Japanese culture at all as a child?

Many of us who were military kids lived at Washington Heights [located where Yoyogi Park is currently] and took the bus each day to school. Other kids, military and otherwise, lived in what we referred to as Japanese houses. And those were very nice homes that had been commandeered by the American military and taken away from their owners, I suppose. And so many of my friends lived in what we called Japanese houses and I would I would visit those houses and have pajama parties at some of them. And I always wished that my parents had chosen to live in a Japanese community instead of Washington Heights, which was such a fake little American community with its little movie theater and its grocery store. I don't know, my parents were not adventurous people, and I suppose they thought that would be familiar and safe. But I always yearned to be out there in the Japanese community.

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Did you study Japanese at school?

I believe Mr Hashimoto taught Japanese, but he taught it in high school, and it was not available to me … I would have had it been available because it's the thing I wanted to do. My sister had no interest and so she didn't study Japanese, but I didn't have the opportunity. So, you know, we — my contemporaries — would pick it up, a certain kind of primitive baby Japanese. In fact I was back in Japan not that many years ago, maybe ten years ago with a tour — I had discovered the Smithsonian Museum ran these tours to various places, and one was going to include the Inland Sea of Japan. And I'd always wanted to go back there because I had spent vacation time down on an island in the Inland Sea, and suddenly I saw this tour that was going to be by boat and was going to go to the island where I'd been. So I went back to Japan for that and the tour began. Everybody met in Tokyo and then went by train to get on the boat. We were still in Tokyo and I went out by myself downtown. We stayed at the Imperial Hotel just for a couple of nights and I was out walking around and it began to rain, and I ducked into a coffee shop just to get out of the rain. And it was very easy to go up to the counter and get a cup of coffee. But I looked around and I saw some sugar, but I didn't see any milk. And so I turned to the person behind the counter and asked in Japanese for milk. Suddenly that word came to me.

If you had said to me, what's the Japanese word for milk, I would have said, I have no idea. And yet there I stood, and that word deep in my brain came back. So I regret that I did not end up fluent in Japanese.

Did you always know that you wanted to be a writer?

Did your time in Japan inspire that?.

I think from the time I was even younger than that, I knew that's what I wanted to do and to be. As I mentioned earlier, English classes and good English teachers were always my favorites.

I've never, with one exception, written about that time as a child in Japan, though. Somebody asked me to contribute a short story to an anthology and I believe the theme of the anthology had to do with displacement or being in a foreign place. I did write a story about me as a child in Japan then, but that's the only time I've ever done that.

About four years ago you published a book On the Horizon that looks at the twin tragedies of Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima. How did that come about?

That book deals with a couple of things and tries to put them together in a way. Let me figure out how to describe it. When a book of mine called The Giver won the Newbery Medal, at the same ceremony, the Caldecott Medal is given

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for illustration and that year the Caldecott Medal was given to an illustrator, an artist named Allen Say, for a book called Grandfather's Journey. Allen Says is Japanese and he grew up in Japan and then moved to the United States as a young adult and changed his name. So at at the breakfast the morning of that ceremony, he and I had breakfast together and he gave me a copy of his book. Grandfather's Journey is about his own grandfather going from the United States back into Japan and beginning to feel he didn't know which was his home country. So he gave me a copy of his book, and he drew a little picture and signed his name, and I gave him a copy of my book, and I wasn't going to draw a picture for a guy who's a famous illustrator, but I wrote my name in Japanese and he said, how is it you're able to do that? And I said, oh, I used to live in Japan when I was a kid.

What a coincidence!

And he asked, where did you live? And I said, Tokyo. I should add that he's exactly my age … and I told him where I lived. He said that's where he lived and blah, blah, blah, we narrowed it down until he said, “Were you the girl on the green bicycle?” And in fact, my father, when I arrived in Japan, told me he had a surprise for me and he had bought me a bicycle. And of course, Washington Heights had a wall around it, but didn't have a lock to the gate. You could come and go and I used to ride that bicycle out all the time around the streets. And Washington Heights was right by Meiji Shrine, which is still there … I used to ride my bike around there, and I used to ride by a Japanese school, and I would stop and look at the kids, and they would look at me. And one of them was Allen Say.

What is your connection to Pearl Harbor?

I was born in Honolulu in 1937, and my father was a very good photographer, though that wasn't his profession. He had a movie camera back in the days when not everybody had a cell phone with video function, so we ended up with a lot of home movies. No sound to them, of course. And I've seen those movies a 100 times, because when I was growing up, we didn't have television so on a boring night we'd get dad to get out the movie projector and show the home movies once again. When my father was getting old, I took those reels of movie film and had them transferred onto videotape for him. And before I sent him the videotapes, I put one into my VCR … I had some friends over, and I made them look at the video of baby Lois on the beach at Waikiki. And one of the friends who was there had been a career naval officer, and he knew Honolulu. And he looked at this and he said, "Do you know how to stop the film?" And I figured it out and we stopped it. And he said, “Look on the horizon!” I'd never noticed it before, but kind of shrouded in mist is the outline of a ship. And he said, that's the Arizona. So this was just

Portrait by Reina Kato ’25 commissioned for The Ambassador

before Pearl Harbor was bombed, just before the Arizona sank and killed 1100 men.

I began to be haunted by that, by that visual portrayal of this child — I was three years old in 1940, laughing on the beach — and behind her this ship full of doomed men moving slowly across the horizon. And I didn't know what to do about that image for many years until I finally put it together for that book. So the first third of that book is about that ship, the Arizona, my childhood playing on the beach there with that in the background, and I did the research on the young men who died on that ship and wrote about several of them.

Then the second third of the book begins in Japan and the bombing of Hiroshima and Allen … He lived in a little town 60 miles away. He saw the sky when the bomb went off. It was after that that his mother took him and his sister to Tokyo to live. And so the second half is about individuals, including Allen, who were there on that day, incidentally, the same time of day I included in the book. One of the men on the Arizona … they found his watch and it had stopped at 8:30 in the morning and in the museum in Hiroshima, there is a watch that stopped at 8:30 in the morning in 1945. The

(Photo courtesy of American Library Association under Creative Commons)

second third of the book is about them and that set of events.

And then the third part is me in Tokyo, looking across the playground at Allen and connecting the events in a way. I don't know what I hope it accomplishes, but hopefully some kind of understanding, putting together, or comprehension if there's ever to be any kind of comprehension for those tragedies.

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

You know, I'm so often asked that, and I always feel inadequate because I don't don't really have any good advice. Every kid who loves writing and wants to be a writer is already doing all the things one does, which is being observant and noticing things and writing things down and making up stories. I do notice that kids today, and maybe this is because teachers encourage it, tend to get together with other kids and exchange and discuss writing, which is something that never happened for me. I was very isolated in that particular realm of my interest. Of course, the obvious thing for anybody who wants to write is that they need to read a lot and everything.

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Young Changemaker Award We speak with educator Sofía María Bosch ’16 on the work that led to her being recognized as the recipient of ASIJ’s 2024 Young Alumni Impact Award

S

ofía María Bosch ’16 currently serves as a bilingual special education department head, teacher, and pilot program lead at J.H.S. 050 John D. Wells in Brooklyn, NY. The pilot in New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) prioritizes experiential, project-based, and small-group learning for students at the intersection of neurodiversity, migration, and emergent bilingualism. She receives ASIJ’s 2024 Young Alumni Impact Award for her efforts in the education world, particularly in the area of multilingualism and education for diverse learners. The award highlights the outstanding and impactful accomplishments of alumni

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who graduated high school in the last 15 years, and seeks to recognize and honor young alumni who have brought about a significant positive change to a community or institution through their efforts.

As a Mexican-Spanish-American who attended ten schools in five countries, Sofía had first hand experience navigating a wide variety of cultures and languages growing up. “My mother is American and my father is first-generation American from Barcelona, Spain” she tells us. “My paternal grandmother, however, is part Mexican as she fled Spain during the Franco

Valerie Grespan ’19 and Sof ía in Beauty and the Beast (2013) dictatorship and was raised entirely there. I was also born in Mexico City. I grew up moving almost every two years as a kid and have lived in five different countries. I attended ASIJ 8th grade through my junior year of high school. I moved to Japan in 2011.”

Sofía found the Japanese language challenging at first but fell in love with the food, culture, and independence she had due to the public transportation system. At school, she credits middle school librarian Marty Swist (FF’97-12, P ’03) for taking her under his wing the first few months and her eighth grade teachers for their support in her transition to yet another new school. Sofía blossomed during her time at ASIJ, jumping at opportunities to perform at middle school dances, at events such as Winterfest, in chorus and vocal jazz, and in three high school musicals. From her swim coaches Lynn Loveman (FF ’06–16, P ’15, ’23), [current swim coach] Hiroto Yamamoto and Dave Swanston (FF ’13–21) to chemistry with Karyn Watt (FF ’11–20), history with Steve Welckle (FF ’03–22, P ’13, ’15, ’21), econ with Beck Gessert (FF ’05-20, P ’18, ’23), theater and music with Brent Huber (FF ’88-17, P ’00, ’05), [current theater manager] David Neale, and Randy Wanless (FF ’08–16), and AP Spanish with Javier Fernandez (FF ’85–21, P ’13), found many academic mentors during her time at ASIJ. It was no surprise that leaving Japan at the end of her junior year in 2019 was not how Sofía hoped her high school career would culminate. “I definitely was sad to be leaving before my senior year and missed Japan incredibly,” she says. “I did

Sof ía preparing for her role in Bye Bye Birdie (2015) with Kyoko Takano (P ’07, ’10) have some trouble [adjusting] but had moved so many times before (it was my 10th school) that I was used to it. I ended up really loving my senior year in Orlando, Florida and had a wonderful community of friends there.” After graduating, Sofía attended the University of Southern California on scholarship, where she studied journalism and international relations. College also provided an opportunity for Sofía to build on the service opportunities she’d explored at ASIJ and she became an active community organizer, working primarily with Latino families surrounding housing rights and with unaccompanied minors in South Los Angeles.

As a freshman, Sofía began to work with Troy Camp as a counselor, taking students to summer camp and then helping run year-long and afterschool programming. “Troy Camp is a very special organization to me, it is what got me involved with youth and helped me discover my passion for education,” she says. Founded in 1948, the program has taken hundreds of local Los Angeles children on a week-long camp adventure, during which the campers create life-long mentor/mentee relationships with the USC college students who work with them. “I was a part of Troy Camp for more than four years and really fell in love with the organization’s mission and the tangible impact it was having on Latino youth in South LA,” Sofía says. “Two years ago, I was invited to join the organization’s board in charge of supporting advocacy and inclusion efforts and the current leadership. I have just been renewed for a second term of two more years which is exciting to be able to support the amazing work they’re doing.”

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Sof ía with students at J.H.S. 050 John D. Wells Upon graduating from USC, Sofía went on to work with startups in Mexico City for a year through a nonprofit and taught design-thinking to high schoolers. “Next, I got a degree in Education Leadership, Organizations, and Entrepreneurship at Harvard in Cambridge and worked part-time advising education-related startups as a systems and storytelling coach,” she says. “All of that set me up beautifully for my current work in New York City.”

Sofía currently serves as a humanities teacher at J.H.S. 050 John D. Wells in Brooklyn, NY, piloting a bilingual special education program for New York City Public Schools (NYCPS). The pilot prioritizes experiential, project-based, and small-group learning for students at the intersection of neurodiversity, migration, and emergent bilingualism.

“Growing up living in five different countries and in a Spanish-English bilingual household, a passion for language and multilingualism is a part of the fabric of who I am,” Sofía tells us. “In a world that is increasingly connected, I believe it is an asset and superpower that all individuals should have.

Speaking more languages gives individuals more words to choose in their linguistic repertoire, deeper stories to be able to tell.”

Sofía tells us that 85% of her job is currently teaching with her remaining time focused on training and leadership

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related to building out the BSE program. ”Next year we’re expanding so I’ll be leading a team of five bilingual special education teachers,” she says. “I’m building, designing, and facilitating curricula that best meets our students’ needs in three subject areas: English Language Arts, Home Language Arts (Spanish), and Social Studies. After school, I help run our community for new arrivals and undocumented students called DREAM Team.” In addition Sofía is also a Spanish debate coach and — paying forward her on stage career at ASIJ — the choreographer/assistant director for the middle school musical. Sofía is particularly focused on finding ways to help students thrive while also supporting herself. “That balance is something that took me years to figure out,” she says. “We have to fill our own cup before filling others’ if not we’ll have nothing left to give.”

Sofía is deservedly proud of role as a teacher and mentor and recognizes that the pilot program “is a wonderful adventure” that she’ll remain with for the next few years. Beyond that she is hoping to continue blogging and building resources for teachers related to neurodiveristy, interrupted education, and multilingualism. On learning she’d received ASIJ’s Young Changemaker Award Sofía told us, “I am honored by this recognition from a school that introduced me to teachers who inspired me to dream bigger and opportunities that ignited my creativity and fearless curiosity.”

Strength and Courage Award Sami Torii ’24 received this year’s award for her resilience in battling complex health problems and showing us the positive impact of kotodama, the positive power of words on our wellbeing.

T

he ninth annual Strength and Courage Award was presented in June of this year to Sami Torii in recognition of her battle with illness and perseverance during her high school career. The award of ¥1 million is presented annually to a senior who has displayed courage and personal strength during their time at ASIJ. Sami was nominated for the award by several of her high school teachers. She “endured a life-threatening illness for at least half of her HS career, and managed to do so with hugely impressive grace and grit. Despite frequent hospital visits, she managed to maintain her standing as an excellent

student, retained genuine interest in what was going on at school, and was always cooperative, contributing, kind, and positive” Josh Berg (FF ’15–24) wrote in his recommendation that Sami be considered for the award. He dubbed her a “stellar human being." Courtney Carreon, high school English teacher, wrote, “in her sophomore year, Sami faced a daunting challenge when she was struck by a mysterious illness that threatened her life. However, she survived through sheer determination and an indomitable spirit. She emerged from the experience with a renewed sense of purpose and a positive outlook on life that is a gift to all who know her."

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Sami’s symptoms began in middle school and progressed as she started high school to include severe fatigue and swollen lymph nodes. By December of her first year of high school, her condition had deteriorated to the point where she was physically unable to attend school and had to switch to online learning. Even calling into her classes and following lessons became a struggle, and throughout this period, Sami faced frequent hospital visits while striving to maintain her academic standing. Despite these adversities, she maintained a positive attitude and remained dedicated to her studies and her community. As someone who had always enjoyed being active, including dancing, surfing, and sports, it was particularly challenging to no longer be able to pursue those. “It is difficult to see positivity, especially in a trough. It is a cycle, but a cycle that you can quickly learn to surf by recognizing the wave. It takes a lot of courage to see the good in the bad,” Sami wrote in her personal statement to the award committee.

On June 8, 2022, Sami's condition took a critical turn, and she was rushed to the hospital, unresponsive. She was diagnosed with a rare, life-threatening immune system disease called Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). Sami and her family navigated often conflicting medical opinions and approaches as well as her changing physical condition.

“The utmost important thing I learned during my battle with this disease was how much mental strength it takes to live at the lowest times of life. If I had just given up, I have a strong feeling my body would have too,” she told us.

After being hospitalized for an extended period and missing school, Sami returned to campus and had to navigate that transition, ultimately choosing to share her situation through

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the ASIJ TEDxYouth event. “When Ted Talk audition season rolled around, I was like this is the perfect opportunity for me to tell everybody because there was just a lot to cover, and there were a lot of people to tell,” she says. “What better way to do that than a Ted Talk? And ... to say something worth a Ted Talk.” Sami connected her experience with the Japanese concept of kotodama, which emphasizes the power of words to shape perspectives and promote healing, speaking about the positive impact people’s messages to her had on her during treatment.

"Sami's resilience, perseverance, and seemingly effortless ability to make a positive difference in the lives of others make Sami a truly exceptional individual who espouses the values of strength and courage in every aspect of her life," Carreon wrote to the award committee in her nomination of Sami. In her personal statement, Sami expressed the “hope that my story serves as a reminder to people at ASIJ that they are so lucky,” adding that “going to school, learning, and having fun with people — it’s a prize in itself.”

After her return to good health in her senior year and her graduation from ASIJ this past spring, Sami headed off to college in the United States to pursue her education at the University of Washington. In September, we unfortunately learned that Sami had been diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma for which she is currently undergoing treatment. Knowing the power of kotodama that Sami highlighted in her presentation, the school community continues to send origami cranes and regular messages of support to Sami as she continues to demonstrate the grit and grace that earned her the Strength and Courage Award.

ASIJ

Highlights

Matthew Goodman ’73 with his wife Deborah at the Majestic Theater New York.

Phantom Notes Matt Wilce talks to musician Matthew Goodman ’73 on his career and long-running stint in Broadway's The Phantom of the Opera THE AMBASSADOR \\ FALL 2024

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S

olo clarinetist in the Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera from 1988 to 2023, Matthew Goodman has lived a musical career more diverse than his most famous long-running credit might indicate.

Praised by The New York Times for his “beautiful range of colors,” Goodman made his solo Carnegie Recital Hall debut as winner of the Artists International Competition.

He toured Japan and Hong Kong as a soloist under the auspices of the United States State Department and the Hong Kong government, performed as a soloist with the National Orchestra of El Salvador, and the Israel Sinfonietta, and was a featured soloist at music festivals including the Scotia Festival in Halifax, Canada, the Jerusalem Music Festival in Israel, and at the Teatro Nuovo in Spoleto, Italy.

Early in his career, Goodman performed on stage in costume with the Royal Shakespeare Company in their Broadway productions of Cyrano de Bergerac and Much Ado About Nothing at the Gershwin Theatre, and in All’s Well That Ends

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Well at the Martin Beck Theatre, as well as in a performance of Stravinsky’s L’Histore du Soldat at the company’s Fringe in the USA festival in New York and Washington, D.C. He also performed with New York orchestras and chamber ensembles including The New York City Ballet, Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, New York Philomusica, Long Island Philharmonic, Queens Symphony, Bronx Arts Ensemble, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Westchester Philharmonic, Brooklyn Philharmonic, and the Northeast Pennsylvania Philharmonic. Goodman is the recipient of numerous additional awards and prizes, including the Dolan Prize for Music from Columbia University and the Paderewski Foundation’s George Galicia Young Artist’s Award.

Following the end of The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, we caught up with Goodman to take a look at his career and how his experience in Japan enabled him to keep focus during his decades-long run in the show.

Did you grow up in a musical family? Is a love of music something that you share with your siblings?

Yes, absolutely. My mom was a folk singer. Her name was Ailene Goodman, and she had a radio show in Pittsburgh called Leeny's Hootenanny. She recorded three albums — one of them is called Animals, Funny Folk and Wee People, which was very highly reviewed in Billboard. My mom was quite an active folk singer. I have two siblings, a brother and sister, Craig ‘75 and Amy ‘77. They're both professional musicians. My brother's a flutist and is on the faculty of the Conservatory in Strasbourg, France. My sister is a violinist, and she teaches in Princeton and has a violin studio.

So growing up in a musical household, how did you get your start? How did you come to play the clarinet?

Well, I started piano when I was in second grade and I played that for a couple of years. Then one day somebody came to the music class in school, and she was a flutist, and she walked around. The teacher held her music while she was playing and I happened to glance up and noticed that she was only playing one note at a time. I thought that's for me, because I found the piano quite difficult. You know, you're playing a lot of notes and different fingerings and so on, and the clarinet just seemed more natural for me, so I started clarinet when I was in fourth grade.

When did you realize that you wanted to pursue music professionally? Did you know when you were in high school?

You know, it was a funny thing. I didn't really know I could do it. It was sort of like being an athlete. I really liked sports and playing the clarinet is a kind of sport. So I was drawn to that. But I didn't really know whether I'd be successful as it is highly competitive. I went to college and majored in math, but practiced all the time. I was practicing five hours a day when I was in college, studying the clarinet very seriously, and I began working. And although I thought I might pursue other avenues, I was working right away. And then I got an orchestra job, and I've kept working ever since, so it was just sort of that I began to be successful and so then I knew I could. I never really thought I'd continue to be successful.

So I always worried about it.

Matthew in his sophomore year at ASIJ.

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“

Your attention has to be very focused no matter how you feel.

Where did you go to college?

What lead you to the job with The Phantom of the Opera?

ˮ

Well, my first year I went to MIT and one of the professors there suggested that maybe I wanted to be in New York since I was so interested in music. So I transferred to Columbia and I was studying with a professor who was on the faculty of Juilliard. I graduated from Columbia and then I went to the Manhattan School of Music for a semester. While I was there, there was an audition — I was taking various auditions — for an orchestra in New York. I won the audition and began working with the orchestra. I later left that orchestra because I didn't want to be overseas and I came back to New York.

I kept auditioning and kept doing competitions and I won a competition called the Artists International Competition, which gave me a recital at Carnegie Recital Hall in New York.

From that I got a New York Times review, which was quite positive and that helped me on my way. But I had already started working on Broadway before these competitions — the first Broadway show that I got was called All's Well That Ends Well.

How did you progress from getting that initial break?

Well, the show lasted 12 weeks and so I was back to freelancing and I wondered what to do next. I had a woodwind quintet, Zephyr Woodwind Quintet, that I was playing with and we won the Artists International Competition for chamber music. The conductor for the Broadway show All's Well That Ends Well had written a very nice piece that we'd liked as an encore.

And I don't know if that had anything to do with it, but he got another opportunity to conduct Cyrano de Bergerac and Much Ado About Nothing with the Royal Shakespeare Company and he hired me for those.

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So I was in a music store buying reeds, and Mel Roadman, the person that hires people for Broadway shows, was in the store and saw me there and said, 'Oh, hello, how are you doing?' And I told him I was doing quite well, that I won this competition and that I had a few recitals actually, in Japan and Hong Kong that were scheduled. He was duly impressed and then he clapped me on the back and said, don't worry, something's coming. Well, a year went by, and I believe another year went by, and I began to wonder whether this was going to work out at all. Les Misérables was playing on Broadway and I was asked to come in and substitute for the clarinet player. So I played four shows of Les Misérables and after the fourth show, the contractor called me. And asked, how would you like to play Phantom of the Opera? Well, I thought Phantom of the Opera — maybe it'll run a year.

With a show like Phantom that goes on to have a hugely successful long run, what is that like for you as a performer playing the same show day in and day out?

Well, of course it's very difficult. One thing to know is we do other things as well. So all along I was playing recitals and symphony concerts in addition to doing Phantom of the Opera, but it's difficult because you have to be playing at a very high level every night. Your attention has to be very focused no matter how you feel.

That's where I think Japan comes in — when I lived in Japan, my parents were interested in exposing us to all the culture that Japan offered, and they took us to several Zen temples. At the time, I was quite young, but the monks showed us how to sit in the traditional Zen meditation and I thought, well, what a waste of time that must be. But a few days later, I had three hours of homework assigned, so I thought, well, I'll just try what the monks showed us, you know, so I sat in a Zen meditation for 10 or 15 minutes and thought, what a waste of time that was. And I got up and began my homework. And the homework was done rather faster than three hours — it was done in one hour. And I was quite impressed. And so what I did when I was doing this run was I turned it into a Zen meditation, so that I was always focused and the challenge was to keep the focus, all the time. Even though the show was the same music it really was never the same approaching it that way.

Sebu Sirinian (violin), Lisa Tipton (violin), Matthew Goodman (clarinet), Sarah Adams (viola), and David Bakamjian (cello) at a chamber music performance

What was your experience at ASIJ like? Are there any things that stand out as memories or faculty who were particularly influential?

Oh, I loved ASIJ, actually. Ray Downs ’50 (FF ’59–91, P ’81, ’84) taught a course called India, China and Japan, I believe.

That course was very influential. I presented something on Daoism, I presented something on Zen, and we covered those topics. I enjoyed that course immensely. I was on the swim team. I played in the band, and I played in a musical [Wonderful Town].

What brought your family to Japan in the first place?

My father was was working there. He was an engineer with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

We have a lot of talented musicians at school. What advice would you give to a young person interested in going into music professionally?

It's a terribly competitive field. No matter how talented you are, it's best to know that. It's going to be very hard work.

I tell people, it's much like being an athlete. You have to have an incredible drive.

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Sunny Side up Performer and artist Judy Ongg ‘69 returned to the Chofu campus with TV crew in tow to reflect on her formative years at ASIJ and her recent return to form in the series Sunny.

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J

udy Ongg ‘ 69 is a Renaissance woman in more senses than one — not only is she a multi-hyphenate artist, she is back on our screens in the Apple TV+ show Sunny.

The show has brought Judy’s talents to a new global audience following a long and multifaceted career that has spanned music, film, TV and the fine arts. Judy was also recently the subject of TV show Eiichiro Funakoshi's Showa Revitalization Factory, which profiled the celebrated performer in a retrospective on her early days in the industry. As part of the show, Judy returned to places such as Nikkatsu Film Studio and the Chofu campus — both known for their cafeteria’s curry rice — for the first time in decades to reminisce and remember the impact ASIJ had on her life and career.

Born in Taiwan and raised in Japan, where she is a naturalized citizen, Judy’s multicultural upbringing shaped her artistic vision, allowing her to effortlessly bridge the style and traditions of both cultures. As she toured campus, this was evident from Judy’s easy transition between Japanese, English, and Chinese as she spoke with the crew and people she encountered as she explored her old high school classrooms. Standing at the entrance to campus, the garden at the front of school and sweep of the high school building quickly prompted Judy to reminisce about being picked up by her mother after school to be taken to Columbia Records to work in the recording studio. She recalled the copper color of the building’s roof that has now transitioned to a teal patina. Judy made her singing debut at 16 while she was still a student at ASIJ — going to her first recording session directly from class — juggling her academics with a burgeoning career. The Chochin from her senior year notes her as “always busy” as well as holding the absentee record.

Ki Nimori (FF’60–02, P ’83 ) works with Judy on her sculpture

Judy in her senior year at ASIJ

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Judy in episode 9 of the TV show Sunny (photo courtesy of Apple TV+) Judy’s music career quickly took off, but it was her 1979 song “Miserarete” that cemented her as one of the stars of the Showa era. The single was a massive breakout hit selling over two million copies and it earned Judy the Japan Record Award at the 21st Japan Record Awards and was used in commercials for a lingerie company. Judy was not only focused on a music career and became a staple in many TV dramas, both contemporary and historical jidaigeki, such as the long running Edo o Kiru. She had made her acting debut as an 11-year-old back in 1961 in the Japan-US production of The Big Wave, based on the Pearl S. Buck novel, and continued to appear in film and TV roles during her teenage years.

At school, most have her classmates were unaware of her outside work commitments and growing success.

Now also known as a respected visual artist, Judy’s passion for art began during her time at ASIJ. During her walk through campus, the high school art rooms were a stop that sparked memories of her art teacher Ki Nimori. “We used karatsu clay here, that brown clay” she remembered as we showed her a photo of herself and Nimori-sensei working on one of her sculptural pieces together in the same spot she was standing. Describing her concept for the piece, Judy told us, “I’ve loved challenges since I was little. Life is like a mountain with many bumps and rough patches. Overcoming them is how you seize opportunities. That’s how I see it, and that’s what I created – the idea of a challenge to climb higher and express myself.” She recalled the impact that Nimori-sensei had on her approach to art and the two would remain in

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contact for many decades after she graduated. Now an accomplished woodblock print artist in her own right, Judy is known for creating intricate works that reflect her love for nature and traditional Japanese aesthetics. This passion for visual arts has led to numerous exhibitions and accolades including a role as visiting lecturer at the National Taiwan University of Arts, solidifying her as a respected figure in both the art world and popular culture. In August 2022, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs honored Judy with the Foreign Minister's Award in recognition of her contributions to promoting mutual understanding and friendship between Taiwan and Japan.

Judy has found new fans in her recent role in the Apple TV+ show Sunny, which turns out to have multiple Mustang connections. Created by Katie Robbins (The Affair, The Last Tycoon) who enrolled her daughters at ASIJ while they were filming in Japan, the show stars Rashida Jones and is based on the 2018 novel The Dark Manual by the Japanbased Irish writer Colin O’Sullivan. In addition to Judy, in what the The Chicago-Sun Times called a “scene-stealing” role as the mother-in-law, the show stars current ASIJ fifth grader Farès Belkheir ‘32 as Zen, her grandson. The co-stars were briefly reunited on Judy’s tour, and she commented on how smart Farès was as a performer. In an interview with Nippon.com Judy revealed she had enjoyed exploring the “contrast between grace and silliness” in her own character, saying, “recently, I’ve been playing lots of characters like corporate chairs and politicians, but at heart I’m a comedian.”

GIVING IMPACT 23-24 Thank you to our current families, alumni families, current and former faculty and staff, and friends who generously gave to The American School in Japan during the 2023-2024 school year.

We are thrilled to share that your donations to ASIJ helped us surpass our fundraising goal for the fifth consecutive year. Your gifts directly and immediately impacted all facets of the ASIJ experience, creating countless opportunities for our students and faculty.

Whether you are one of the 830+ generous donors, one of the 1,000+ PTA volunteers, or one of nearly 150 alumni volunteers who regularly connect Mustangs across the globe, we thank you for the many ways you support ASIJ. Thank you in particular to those volunteers involved in the Advancement Committee, PTA Annual Fund Committee, and the Alumni Giving Committee, for dedicating their time and efforts to share the importance of giving back to ASIJ and contributing to the success of our fundraising program.

We look forward to a joyful 2024-2025 school year and continuing to share the amazing things our students are doing every day at ASIJ with your help.

Anne Cunningham Chief Advancement Officer

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ALUMNI DONORS 40s ’42 Albert Kobayashi ’48 Ned Burkart

50s ’50 Pam Lenz (Alexander) ’52 Peter Armstrong

Joanna Nicol (Strother) Meredith Potter (Woods)

’53 ’56 Mei Sun Li

Nancy Eills (Brewer)

Ted Matsumoto Elizabeth Meyer (Winn)

’57 ’58 Stirling Rasmussen ’59 Will McCoy Leon Fattal

Jeannette Nielsen (Elsener)

60s ’60 Dave Bergt

Andrew Haines Phyllis Lyons George Namkung

’61 Grace Griffin (Ting) ’62 Fred Meyer James Yang

’63 Jill Cheng (Tsui)

Bill Martino Lili Meagher (Mitchell) Louise Meller David Perry

’64 Stephen Rice

Leslie Yamada (Davis)

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THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN

’65 Jennifer Farkas (Burkard)

Joyce Gorham Frank Guillot Nancy Kurahashi (Nagase) Dick Lury Mary Meyer Tom Tsui

’66 Jeannie Bronsal (See) Daniel Marsh Leslie Okada Roberts Sally Turner (Noll)

’67 Penny Cromwell

Ken Glazier Virginia Kerr Marsha Shockley (Hardesty) Rick Tanaka Robin Trozpek (Weeks)

’68 Lucia Buchanan Pierce

Glenn Colville Nancy Dockerty (Stolle) Lee Marsden Robert Oshima Farida Rahman Tal Vivian

’69 Rick Cohen

Peter Harnik Tom Manning Suzi Neff

Thank you to the hundreds of alumni who attended the Classes of ‘64–’69 Catalina Reunion 2023 for donating reunion proceeds to the ASIJ Annual Fund

70s ’70 Stephanie Anderson Ellen Gadsby Ernie Higa Debbie Huskins

’71 Jan Blizzard (Schaale)

’76 Rusty Anderson

’72 Karin Flynn (Jagel)

’77 Andy Honaman

George Hayao Kathy Holloway Craig Moore Jim Sanoden Terry Shorrock Steve Weiss Dave Wilson

Mark Francischetti Ann Gleason Julia Ludlow-Ortner Paul Manierre Bruce Morgen Brad Rainoff Linda Suzukawa-Tseng

’73 David Boatwright

Julie Clough (Van Wyk) Connie Kleinjans Darice Koo (Fong) Jody Kroehler Magnuson Sandy Leybold (Colville) Carolyn Moss Elisabeth Rubinfien Lynn Savarese (Ashby) Tory Thomas Nancy Tsuchihashi

Thank you to those 120+ alumni who attended the Class of ‘73 50th Cluster Reunion for donating reunion proceeds to the ASIJ Annual Fund

’74 Eiko Gustavson (Fukuda) Paul Nagata A-Lan Reynolds (Von Hornlein)

’75 Erik Jagel

Jon Kidder Rob Schaffer Nathan Sult Ernie Wakamatsu

Andy Feldman Chad Harbour Kenji Hayao Liz Horwitz (Yanagihara) Paul Kidder Miriam Rich Sally Schaffer

Kim Jacobson Mitzi Kuroda Roy Ryu

’78 Korey Halsch (Hutchings) Kent Matsumoto Mark Oline Tara Smith

’79 Chuck Whitehead

80s ’80 Charles Breer

Tom Cavanaugh Ivar Eimon Kyoko Kirby (Ono) Joseph Schmelzeis Will Walsh

’81 Mary Harada (Che)

Phaedra Ledbetter (Onuma) Jerry Livingston Andy Lund Yuhka Mera Michitaka Soga Bob Walsh

’82 Lisa Bastick

Yumi Kuwana (Mera) Catherine Piez

’83 Sally Burks Schmalz

Sue Duke Andra Ehrenkranz (Bowman) Yuki Hirooka Lungwen Kang Joe Krisher Fred Morgenstern

’84 Judith Baumhover (Walsh) Doug Freeman Tetsu Nakayama Rei Suzuki Yuriko Takahashi Anton

’85 Susie Brennan (Burks)

Buddy Marini Tina Nishida (Yamano) Sandra Orton-Tweed

’86 Ethan Berkove

Deanna Elstrom (Ciarlante) Yoko Hirooka (Endo) Steve Knode David Lee Pascal Meier Greg Nakamatsu David Okamoto Michael Slovin

’87 Kari Kohl (Wilkinson) Drew Little Motoko Rich Mike Sanders Matthew Sclafani Robert Sharp Kentaro Toyama

’88 Minako Abe

Bitsy Cobb (Horn) Peter Durfee Nina Marini David Morgenstern Chris Munson

’89 Ashley Anderson Daniel DiCicco Tokuya Sano Brett Sparrgrove

90s ’90 Heather Curnutt

Bapi Ghosh Ako Krisher (Inatomi) Yasu Nakayoshi Andy Ogawa Jinly Zee

’91 Patrick Kaser

00s

10s

’92 Chris Harvey ’93 Matt Clark

’00 Paul Hastings

’10 Anne Marie Dornoff

Jenni Yoshida

Briney Dillon Burley Lalaka Fukuma (Ogawa) Mayumi Nakayama Crystal Sacca (English)

’94 Jennifer Billian (Bothwell) Katherine Greig Jeffrey Huo Margaret MacCallum Eiko Narita Tetsuya Nishimi

’95 Marc Chapman ’96 Anonymous

Eugene Huo Takeshi Okamoto

’97 Anonymous

Emilie Ewart (Fisher) Richard Miller Pamela Pontius Matthew Romaine Michelle Watabe (Harrison) Nathan Watabe Brooke Whitworth

’98 Sam Jones

Shinobu Morohoshi Tet Okamoto Michel Tarna Masato Yokosuka

’99 Reina Boaz

Koa Fujisaki (Shino) Ryuzo Ogawa Beth Pontius Shiori Sumida Debbie Wissel

Andrew Joslyn Kaz Kawaguchi Ryan Kearney Jon Sack

’01 Sarah Thomas-Polak Lara Tilley-Bouez Matt Woods

’02 Anna Delia (Tuttle)

Shino Kido Nykkol Mozee Okabe Kelly O’Brien

David Forster Justin Marut Mimi Takano

’11 Enna Hattori

Alexander Heideman

’12 Julie Keese ’13 Takuya Wakayama ’14 Jo Carroll

Erica Nakayama-Cooper

’03 Brent Keese

’18 Aishwarya Kumar ’19 Kenichiro Bernier

’04 Ryan Butz

20s

Mariko Ohno Kotoe Shirakawa Sean Sloan

Sonia Livdahl Jason Mothersill Erika Sloan Max Taffel

’05 Zelda Edmunds (Sack) Shuji Wakutsu Steve Woods

’06 Yumi Araki

Tai Dirkse Timmy Jacobsson Michael Thornton

’20 Alex Kashiwagi Emma Rekate

’21 Taiga Lewis ’23 Stephen Hagerty

Andrew Kashiwagi Aaryan Kumar Ellie Reilly

’07 Noriko Hashimoto (Nakao) Jaclyn Keese Patrick O’Hearn Wayne Spangler Sayumi Terao Kohei Wakutsu

’08 Carson Eisenhart Hiroya Ozaki

’09 Will Bender

Kei Kuwahara David Lintvelt

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DECADE CLUBS Quadruple Decade Club Jan ‘71 & Craig Blizzard David Boatwright ‘73 Ned ‘48 & Pauline Burkart Rick Cohen ‘69 & Barbara Topper-Cohen Ken Glazier ‘67 Andrew ‘60 & Lisa Haines Joanna Nicol ‘52 Jeannette Nielsen ‘59 Margaret & Henry Pietraszek Sally Schaffer ‘76

Triple Decade Club

Nancy & Jim Adams Peter & Pam Cooper Leon ‘57 & Suzanne Fattal Patty Floch & Ken Bruzek Mark Francischetti ‘72 Peter ‘69 & Yoko Harnik Jeffrey Huo ‘94 Larry James Pamela Jones-Morton, PhD Paul ‘76 & Terry Kidder Albert ‘42 & Betty Kobayashi Jody Kroehler Magnuson ‘73 & Clark Magnuson Jerry ‘81 & Bonnie Livingston Andy ‘81 & Denise Lund Dick ‘65 & Gemma Lury Will ‘59 & Lynne McCoy Mary Meyer ‘65 Carolyn Moss ‘73 & Daniel Hawkins John & Mimi Plum Jeffrey Tunis Bob Walsh ‘81

Double Decade Club

Lucia Buchanan Pierce ‘68 Alan Cannon & Fuyumi Kitakado Tom & Cheryle Coopat Sue Duke ‘83 Emilie ‘97 & Jake Ewart Eugene Huo ‘96 Mitzi Kuroda ‘77 & Stephen Elledge Yuhka Mera ‘81 Fred ‘83 & Kendra Morgenstern David & Tina Nishida ‘85 Thierry Porté Mike ‘87 & Jun Sanders Richard & Fran Snell Mid & Carol Squier Sally Turner ‘66 Matt Wilce & Sho Suzuki

Although I spent only one year at ASIJ, my positive experiences with faculty and fellow students left an impression on me that remains to this day. I am grateful for my time at ASIJ, and give back to help others find their inspiration as well."

- Ethan Berkove ’86,

Decade Club member

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THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN

Decade Club

Ethan ‘86 & Kyra Berkove Jeff & Seiko Bernier Glenn ‘68 & Dianne Colville Andra ‘83 & John Ehrenkranz Katherine Greig ‘94 Esther Harte Hiroyuki & Harumi Kamano Bill ‘63 & Betsy Martino Louise Meller ‘63 & Jay Lukowski Scott & Mary Miller Toshizumi & Junko Mizuno David Morgenstern ‘88 Amane & Chizuru Nakashima Hiroko Nishikawa Fu & Ming-Xia Fu Catherine Piez ‘82 & Mark Whatford Richard & Cynthia Schlichting Susan & Theo Seltzer Nathan Sult ‘75 & Beth Tarter Max Taffel ‘04 & Allen Yang Yuko Takada Alejo & Lusan Yao Jinly Zee ‘90 & Kazuya Tsujita

Inspiring Sounds

Renowned choral educator and arranger Dr Rollo Dilworth spent three days working with students at ASIJ in October. Vice Dean of the Boyer College of Music at Temple University and Professor of Choral Music Education, Dr Dilworth brought music students and faculty from across divisions together with the highlight of his visit being the performances of one of his pieces by a combined choir of elementary, middle and high school students. He was also a guest on the ASIJ Audio podcast where he discussed music education with two of our teachers.

FACULTY & STAFF Faculty & Staff

Anonymous (3) Tricia Apel Warren Apel Rieko Armstrong Brad Augustine Meena Beardsley Mike Bell Gloria Bell Miyuki Benning Josh Berg Maka Black Elk Akiko Brigham Sayako Bryson Sean Bryson Ryan Butz ‘04 Amy Carey Ryan Carey Christy Carrillo Milan Claudio Polly Cline Shayne Cokerdem Diane Cokerdem-DePriest Dwain Confer Miah Confer Rigel Crockett Anne Cunningham Pip Curtis Lennie Davis Tamera Davis Kristen DePass Emily de Leon Roberto de Leon Jody Fuller Nadine Dickinson Tai Dirkse ‘06 Carmen Dolman Zelda Edmunds ‘05 Ivar Eimon ‘80 Jenn Eng Cory Evans-Klock Bart Fabianowicz Kate Fabianowicz Andy Faulk Laura Faulk Emily Fichardt Hardi Fichardt Misael Fisico Yoshiko Furukawa-Lee David Gardner Pia Gardner Bapi Ghosh ‘90 Miwa Ghosh Alex Gutierrez Caroline Haddad Jim Hardin Marti Hardin Joanne Harris-Rolls

Jeff Harrison Manon Harrison Nick Heidt Naoko Hirasawa Taeko Ito Catherine Iwata Ken Iwata Laurel Janewicz Saori Kakihara Iku Kano Aileen Kanoh Shunichi Kudo Rie Kobashi Mary Koizumi Ako Krisher ‘90 Miranda Liu Heidi L’Heureux Marc L’Heureux Meenakshi Lahad Tracie Landry Kathleen Lewis-Workman Johnson Lin Karen List Leah Llamzon Craig Macek Debby Macek Lydia Mangle Annie Markovich Natalia Martinez Justin Marut ‘10 Timmy Jacobsson ‘06 Gabriela Jiménez Anneliese Knight Claire Lonergan Michael Maloney Michele Maxson Angie McCullough Jake McCullough Naoko McQueen Phil Meehan Eddie Meinhold Joshua Miles Yumiko Miyazaki Maddie Moll Shinobu Morohoshi ‘98 Carl Murray Jilene Murray Tomoko Nakai Ikuko Nakayoshi Yasu Nakayoshi ‘90 Becky Naughton Ryan Naughton David Neale Shiho Negoro Anjali Nirmalan Bill Novy Mariko Ohno ‘03

Megan Ortwein Tanya Pachter Zoë Paraskevopoulos Nami Pettit Jon Pitale Laura Pitale Josh Raub Jamie Richard Damaris Rivera Grant Rolls Hala Rosendaal Koshika Sachdeva Jon Sack ‘00 Leila Sakagawa Marianne Scharf Joy Sell Mihoko Shimada Leah Shy Kate Sikora Minako Sugiya Sarah Sutter Ryosuke Suzuki Kyoko Takano Mimi Takano ‘10 Yue Takigayama Nicola Takizawa Andy Thiel Tia Thiel Midori Tokoro Jeff Torchon Nikki Torchon Koshiro Tsuji Miho Vargo Srilalitha Venkatesh Prasad Marc Vermeire Suzanna Voigt Amy Vriend Pete Vriend Kyoko Wakutsu Russell Walsh Matt Wilce Scott Wilcox Sheila Wilcox Cory Willey Dee Willey Frazer Wilson Min Wu Mariko Yokosuka Hiromi Yoshida Amy Zuber Meehan

Former Faculty & Staff

Nancy Adams Dan Bender Ruth Bender Pam Cooper Peter Cooper Les Crandall Thurman Dennis Brenda Duyan Scott Duyan Than Edmunds Patty Floch Taeko Fukuda Irene Gilman Dan Gogerty Lana Gogerty Joe Hoffman Susan Huber Pamela Jones-Morton, PhD Mary Margaret Mallat Doug McQueen Leslie Okada Roberts ‘66 Mary Pfeiffer Margaret Pietraszek Carol Prewitt Dave Prewitt Josh Reckord Nancy Reckord Nobuko Relnick Fran Snell Richard Snell Carol Squier Mid Squier Margit Umezaki Polly Phillips Vasché Deborah Vermeire Randy Wanless Renee Williams Gene Witt Janet Witt Mary Gene Woods

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PARENT DONORS Donors

Anonymous (18) Minako Abe ‘88 & Michael Shelton Jeff & Akiko Acton Shigeki & Noriko Adachi Jordi Agud Ruiz & Raquel Vila Viñas Bryan Aguila Akshay & Shuchandrima Ahuja Masahiro & Maki Akaishi Jin & Satsuki Akanishi Yoshihiro & Shiho Akiyama Jeffrey & Miwa Annis Takashi & Haruka Arikai Rieko & Ryan Armstrong Yasu & Izumi Ashikawa Paul & Shiho Barbir Andrew & KT Barous Sean & Madeleine Batson Jamie Becchetti & Kyoko Okada Mike & Gloria Bell Selim Benba & Deniz Aygun Benba Brian & Ayako Bender Michael & Noriko Benner Joshua & Chanda Berk Jeff & Seiko Bernier Taro & Sayoko Bhasin Michael & Keiko Bidinger John & Antonia Boardman James & Ayako Boston Denis Bregeon & Karine Desperques Sayako & Robin Bryson James & Ali Buford Ian Burkheimer & Yoko Inaba Dale & Megumi Caldwell Amy & Ryan Carey Christy Carrillo & Tim Littlefield Joe & Tricia Cascio Kieron Cashell & Kotoha Haga Jack Chang & Cindy Zhong Wayne Chang & Maie Takahashi Marc Chapman ‘95 & Yoshiko Matsuhisa Cram & Anya Chavali Stephen & Candice Chen Luyi Chen & Ruby Xu Changyu Chen & Ai Nakao Yuan Chen & Tian Zhu Baldwin Cheng & Fan Cheung Andy Chew & Tessa Kocourek-Chew Jinhae Choi & Sooyun Park Sachin & Chika Chowdhery Katie & Doug Chuchro Tiy Chung & Linda Mak

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THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN

Archie & Yoko Ciganer Albeniz Shayne Cokerdem & Diane Cokerdem-DePriest Dwain & Miah Confer Andrew & Chitose Conrad Justin & April Cook Ross Cooper & Naha Kim Rigel Crockett & Ariel Janzen Magnus Damm Aditya Damodaran & Nita Harwani Basil & Chieko Dan Lennie & Tamera Davis Emily & Roberto de Leon Ozgur & Ozge Demirkol Daniel ‘89 & Yuko DiCicco Mark & Miwako Drabkin Alan & Lisa Draper Peter ‘88 & Megumi Durfee Masato & Yoshiko Edo Hiroaki & Nao Ehira Deanna ‘86 & Peter Elstrom Jonathan & Liu Epstein Gonzalo Esparza Pedroza & Martha Esparza Gaucin Kate & Bart Fabianowicz Laura & Andy Faulk Gil & Anat Feldman Hardi & Emily Fichardt Jim & Mika Fink Eric Frost & Erica Finsness John Fu & Ai Ito Gene & Amy Fujii Kenta & Noriko Fujii Fuyuki & Tomoko Fujiwara Akihiro & Tomoko Fukikoshi Lalaka ‘93 & Jin Fukuma Daisuke & Naomi Fukumoto Rio & Coco Funayama Tak & Natsumi Furukawa Yoshiko Furukawa-Lee & Michael Lee Jeff & Miki Galvin Nilay Gami & Monika Sharma-Gami David & Pia Gardner Taka & Aiko Go Renaud Gocsei & Aya Higashio Hitoshi & Yukari Gohdo Eric & Ayako Golden Carlos Alejandro Gonzalez Gonzalez & Alicia Andrea Murrieta Fernandez Samuel Gordon & Tomoko Katayama Gordon Fumiko Goto Seth Graham & Akemi Suzuki

Nick & Surya Grover Eddie & Chi Guillemette Wayne Guo & Rachel Zhong Corey & Yasuko Gustin Jeff & Sakura Guthrie Alex Gutierrez & Lydia Mangle Tarek Habib & Naila Bahgat Caroline & Scott Haddad Naoko & Michael Halloran David & Michiko Hamaty Jeff & Manon Harrison Noriko ‘07 & Akinori Hashimoto Matthew Hassan & Mari Ojima Keiji & Mayumi Hattori Dustin Havenar & Inna Caron Eiji Hayakawa & Paula Tashima Toru & Miwako Hayasaka Andrew & Mika Hershon Dan & Nicole Heur Dairi & Sachiko Higashi Hideyuki Hiramoto & Fumiko Shiobara Pina & Yoko Hirano Naoko & Taku Hirasawa Michie Hisada Hiroaki Hishida & Kyungmi Kim Ian Ho & Sandra Wong Christian & Mikiko Hoffman Goro & Nami Hokari Mats & Hiroe Holjo Shinichiro & Suzuko Hori Jack Huang & Margaret Chen Koji & Mie Igarashi Mike & Naoko Ikeda Eiji & Hiromi Imai Ken & Yuriko Imai Yoh & Anna Imoto Katsuo & Asami Inoue Yasutaka & Kanako Inoue Yuko Inoue Keiko & Masayuki Ishido Yu & Yoshino Ishihara Narumi & Yuki Ito Taeko & Katsuhiro Ito Ken & Catherine Iwata Makoto Iyobe & Claire Chen Takuzo & Hanako Izawa Yasuhiro & Noriko Izushima Gaurav & Vibhu Jain Arek & Izabela Kachel Yuichi & Mika Kaji Saori Kakihara & Yongjin Chang Stephen & Kaori Kampa Hiroshi & Mariko Kanazawa Yasuyuki & Aya Kanda Jun & Akane Kaneko Tetsuya & Sofia Kaneko

Tohru & Yoko Kanematsu Youjong Kang & Haejin Kwon Johannes & Lisa Kaps Rika & David Jun Kasamatsu Ryotaro & Junko Kato Tadashi & Mena Kato Kaz ‘00 & Maki Kawaguchi Lawrence & Rieko Kieffer Hiroyuki & Makiko Kikuiri Koji & Ai Kikura So & Haruko Kikuya Jimin Kim & June Lee Minsu Kim & Yoonha Lee Sinbae Kim & Eunjung Lim Mike King & Makiko Nishimura Michael Kinstle & Teruko Iida-Kinstle Kamal & Brinda Kirpalani Akihito & Alisa Kitakoshi Mai Kitamura Toshiki & Masayo Kitao Hiroki & Yukiko Kiyoto Manami & Masatoshi Kobayashi Takashi & Toshiyo Kobayashi Terumi & Takashi Kobayashi Shuhei & Sayako Koga Rinya & Eleanor Kohara Junji & Aya Koike Taro & Reiko Kondo Wei Ku & Mina Utsuki Yoshiaki & Maya Kudo Elad & Saori Lachovitzki Steve & Yuriko Lai Benjamin & Aki Lang Balazs & Magdolna Laszlo Joshua & Kendal Latner Craig & Jeannine Law-Smith David Lawton & Viki Selca Riaan & Wilna le Roux David ‘86 & Kaori Lee Kevin & Stephanie Lee KJ Lee & Monica Won Joseph & Vanessa Lee Gary Lee & Catherine Jollymore Daniel Leuck & Mika Terada Albert Li & Vivien Yu Nan Li & Ye (Emily) Bai Zhibin Li & Yanqi Wang Jon & Kanae Lilja John & Iku Liljequist George & Yayoi Lin Drew ‘87 & Jennifer Little Jiongwu Liu & Ruiheng Wang Aaron & Chiho Lloyd Marc Luet & Sandra Germay Akira & Yuko Makita Buddy ‘85 & Hitomi Marini

Aki Matz Matsudaira Enrique Mazon & Suheir Nasereddin Sean & Haruka Mccarthy Kevin & Nobuko McNeeley Eddie Meinhold & Kristen DePass Oleg Menshikov & Irina Menshikova Spyro Mentzas Nancy & David Michels Chad Miller & Cathy Kitahara Kristen & Richard Miller ‘97 Michael & Jennifer Min Toshiyuki & NingNing Minamisawa Ayanori Mitsui & Miriam Au Shinichi & Ayaka Mizuta Eelco Modderman & Emily Hengeveld Chris & Kumiko Moores Kunihito & Mari Morimura Sergio & Mayumi Morita Jim Muir & Miwa Kanai Jaya Mukherjee & Abhijit Mukhopadhyay Noriko Murai & Bill Yeskel Yumiko Murakami & Todd Moses Kensuke & Maiko Murashima Yuji Murata & Naoko Kawasaki Tadao & Ayano Nagasaki Takafumi & Erika Nakadate Tomoko Nakai Ikutaro & Mika Nakajima Mariko & Hiro Nakamura Naoya & Hitomi Nakamura Akinori & Mariko Nakano Yuji & Mamiko Nakano Kozo & Minako Nakatani Ryosuke & Moeko Nakatomi Tetsu ‘84 & Ayumi Nakayama Yasu ‘90 & Ikuko Nakayoshi Norihiko & Keiko Namba Shogo & Yuki Nishida Nik Nixon & Choi Choi Bill Novy & Thi Huong Giang Le Stephen & Karen O’Neill Yusuke & Junko Oba Gen & Yuko Obata Noritsugu & Tomoko Odaira Noriyuki & Naho Ogawa Ryuzo ‘99 & Tomoko Ogawa Aisa Ogoshi & Sam Baillie Eugine Oh & Kevin Han Mariko Ohno ‘03 Hikaru & Yoshiko Okada Tet ‘98 & Eri Okamoto Nao & Rie Okuda

Sean & Amanda Opitz Taro & Tomoko Otsuka Kerem & Natsuki Over Arthur & Kaya Ozeki Tanya & Ben Pachter Sangpil Park & Jung Hwang Nami & Isaac Pettit Albert & Kara Piscopo Jon & Laura Pitale Shane & Nao Predeek Roy Prieb & Miho Walsh Josh Raub & Mihoko Shimada Lenore Reese & Joshua Isenberg Ken & Debbie Reilly Motoko Rich ‘87 & Mark Topping Mike & Adrianne Richards Ed & Betsy Rogers Grant Rolls & Joanne Harris-Rolls Rolf & Hala Rosendaal Philip & Kaho Roskamp Davide & Haruna Rossi Alan Roth & Blair Perilman Leila & Kenichi Sakagawa Atsuhiko Sakamoto David Sancho Shimizu & Risako Shima Kenjiro & Keiko Sano Ken & Nao Satake Junichi & Rachel Zhang Sato Scott & Marianne Scharf Daniel Scudelari Chu & Alessandra Batalha dos Santos Ichiran Seki & Iris Wu Heather & Shuhei Sekiguchi Susan & Theo Seltzer Satoru & Tamaki Serizawa Ken Shimamura & Atsuko Kurata Keita Shiotani Shambhu Shrestha & Rachana Manandhar Shrestha Leah Shy & Frazer Wilson Saori & Tom Silecchia Nick & Yumiko Silver Dheeraj & Deepali Singhi Charles & Emi Smith Derek & Magan Smith Hisaya & Kinuko Sobajima Chris & Leslie Sobotka Darren & Sally Spencer Yoshitaka & Mizuki Sugihara Shoko Suto Erie & Tamami Suzuki Shunsuke & Saeka Suzuki Andrey Svininnikov & Yasuko Svininnikova

Mark & Grace Swaine Kunio & Eriko Tahara Keiichi & Yuko Tajima Hal & Tomoko Takahashi Masaki Takahashi Satoru Takahashi & Tiantian Qiu Tomomichi & Yoko Takahashi Manabu & Miyuki Takami Toshiro & Shino Takamiya Yoshiyuki & Mayu Takanashi Hiro & Yuka Takeda Yue & Hiroaki Takigayama Hiroyuki & Yukari Takizawa Nicola & Takao Takizawa Sayo & Eiji Takizawa Kiyotaka Tanaka & Shiho Watabe Wakana Tanaka Rei Tanaka & Hiroko Hollie Tanaka Hideto & Ayaka Tanihara Michel ‘98 & Chie Tarna Jonathan Tepper & Michele Maxson Sayumi Terao ‘07 & Hiroshi Horikoshi Andy & Tia Thiel Peter & Vanessa Thomas Ryan Timms & Aya Yamaura-Timms Ryan Todd & Yumi Nakamura Jeff & Nikki Torchon Shoji & Junko Tsuboyama Carol Tsuchida Kosaku & Yurifa Tsuchida Tom & Sachiko Ueki

Ko & Misato Umeno Jasper & Juliet van Oudenhoven Miho & Keith Vargo Marc & Deborah Vermeire Pete & Amy Vriend Robert Wagner & Dagmar Hausensteiner-Wagner Jianfeng & Ting Wang Richard Watanabe & Deni Cheng Yasushi & Mayumi Watanabe Hai Wei & Nicole Wang Neil & Andi Weingarten Scott & Sheila Wilcox Robert Wray & Takako Morishima Roger & Toshimi Wright Wengang Wu & Mingzhu Jiang Simon Xiao & Lesley Wang Satoshi & Erina Yamagata Takeshi & Marina Yamaguchi Takeshi & Waka Yamamoto Shingo & Ann Yamanaka Atsushi & Akari Yamashita Yuichiro & Miki Yamazaki Jack Yan & Natsuko Moriyama An Yan & Grace Hu Ayako Yashiro Chris Yeh & Shino Torigoe-Yeh Masato ‘98 & Mariko Yokosuka Tatsuo & Miho Yoshikawa Yoshi & Nancy Yoshitsugu Sandra Young Jinly Zee ‘90 & Kazuya Tsujita Frank Zhang & Susan Huang Amy Zuber Meehan & Phil Meehan

We cherish every opportunity to participate in and build this community.

And let’s make ASIJ and the PTA even better together." 我们珍惜每一个参与和建设这个社团的机会， 我们一起让ASIJ和PTA越来越好！

- Qi Shuangliu & Shi Shasha, current parents

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ALUMNI AND FORMER STUDENT PARENT DONORS Anonymous (3) Nancy & Jim Adams Jeffrey & Miwa Annis Louis & Marian Apple Dennis & Naomi Arai Sue Barber Laura & Eric Barboriak Dan & Ruth Bender Miyuki Benning Jeff & Seiko Bernier Jan ‘71 & Craig Blizzard John & Antonia Boardman James & Ayako Boston Susie ‘85 & Sean Brennan Catlan & John Brinsley Ian Burkheimer & Yoko Inaba Arthur & Elizabeth Butcher Dale & Megumi Caldwell Paul Caldwell & Mayumi Sawada Alan Cannon & Fuyumi Kitakado Christy Carrillo & Tim Littlefield Archie & Yoko Ciganer Albeniz Shayne Cokerdem & Diane Cokerdem-DePriest Andrew & Chitose Conrad Justin & April Cook Tom & Cheryle Coopat Peter & Pam Cooper Laurie Del Bene Daniel ‘89 & Yuko DiCicco Nadine & Michael Dickinson Jeff & Deanne Dornoff Scott & Brenda Duyan Eric & Misa Edmunds Scott & Michelle Eisenhart Deanna ‘86 & Peter Elstrom Jonathan & Liu Epstein Jennifer ‘65 & Arthur Farkas Gil & Anat Feldman Richard & Stephanie Folsom Doug ‘84 & Hiroko Freeman Gene & Amy Fujii Bapi ‘90 & Miwa Ghosh Dan & Lana Gogerty Caroline & Scott Haddad William & Chrissy Hagerty Naoko & Michael Halloran Esther Harte Matthew Hassan & Mari Ojima Paul Hastings ‘00 & Debbie Wissel ‘99 Beatrice & Kenneth Hermann Dan & Nicole Heur Ernie ‘70 & Aya Higa Dairi & Sachiko Higashi Michie Hisada Mats & Hiroe Holjo Susan Huber

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THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN

Jason Hyland & Andrijana Cvetkovikj Masatoshi & Kumi Ito Yasuhiro & Noriko Izushima Larry James Jay & Adrianne Johnson Kyoichiro & Yukari Kamibayashi Blake & Jill Kashiwagi Hoji & Yoko Kawaguchi Jack & Pamela Keese Lawrence & Rieko Kieffer Jon & Sachiko Kindred Kyoko ‘80 & Peter Kirby Steve ‘86 & Sharon Knode Rie & Yoshinori Kobashi Taro & Reiko Kondo Partha & Lia Kumar Sora & Jason Kwan Marc & Heidi L’Heureux Meenakshi & Samir Lahad Nick & Holly Lane Joshua & Kendal Latner Morgan Laughlin & Rumiko Sato-Laughlin Craig & Jeannine Law-Smith Joseph & Vanessa Lee Kathleen & Steve Lewis-Workman Leah & Larry Llamzon Hiroko Lockheimer Craig & Debby Macek Nasir & Chie Majid Mary Margaret Mallat & David Deck Kathy Matsui & Jesper Koll Toyokazu & Naomi Matsumoto Angie & Jake McCullough Jeffrey & Kazuko McNeill Eli & Chizu Mendoza Nancy & David Michels William & Mary Michels Scott & Mary Miller Toshizumi & Junko Mizuno Kathleen Montesanti Fred ‘83 & Kendra Morgenstern Jaya Mukherjee & Abhijit Mukhopadhyay Yumiko Murakami & Todd Moses Yoichi & Sakiko Nakamura Amane & Chizuru Nakashima Mayumi Nakayama ‘93 Yasu ‘90 & Ikuko Nakayoshi Kirk & Mariko Neureiter David & Tina Nishida ‘85 Hiroko Nishikawa Fu & Ming-Xia Fu Hideo & Kazuko Niwa Bob & Janette Noddin Erin & Tim O’Donovan

Stephen & Karen O’Neill Hiromasa & Momoko Ohashi Marcus & Kazuko Okuno Arthur & Kaya Ozeki Margaret & Henry Pietraszek Kathy Pike Albert & Kara Piscopo John & Mimi Plum Thierry Porté John & Shoko Possman Dave & Carol Prewitt David Proctor Josh & Nancy Reckord Lenore Reese & Joshua Isenberg Ken & Debbie Reilly Phil & Nobuko Relnick Motoko Rich ‘87 & Mark Topping Mike & Adrianne Richards Damaris Rivera & John Fahy Ed & Betsy Rogers Grant Rolls & Joanne Harris-Rolls Philip & Kaho Roskamp Jim & Carol Sack Catherine & Taisuke Sasanuma Richard & Cynthia Schlichting Daniel Scudelari Chu & Alessandra Batalha dos Santos Susan & Theo Seltzer David & Masako Semaya Ronald & Toshiko Slattery Charles & Emi Smith Kent & Cathy Smith Richard & Fran Snell Darren & Sally Spencer Mid & Carol Squier Susan Sullivan Linda Suzukawa-Tseng ‘72 Rei Suzuki ‘84 Yuko Takada Kyoko & Hiroyuki Takano Nicola & Takao Takizawa Jay & Yuki Talbot Hiroshi & Michiyo Tanimoto Andy & Tia Thiel Peter & Vanessa Thomas Samuel Tsegaye & Ayako Matsuno Miki & Jun Tsusaka Jeffrey Tunis Kimiko & Shuji Uchida Margit Umezaki Srilalitha Venkatesh Prasad & Venkatesh Prasad Sharma Marc & Deborah Vermeire Ernie ‘75 & Yuko Wakamatsu Kyoko & Hiroshi Wakutsu Linda Wardell Tom & Misty Whitson

Albert & Ineke Wierman Scott & Sheila Wilcox Gene & Janet Witt Bob & Mary Gene Woods Simon Xiao & Lesley Wang Paul & Afifah Yamasaki Alejo & Lusan Yao Rusty Yuson & Stuart Sowder

COMMUNITY DONORS Grandparents Jon & Sachiko Kindred Nakao Tawara Yasuyo Yamada

Friends

Anonymous (1) Sarah Alexander Hiroyuki & Harumi Kamano Andy Liu & Mary Roth Katie Millican William Ross

Gift-in-Kind

Coca-Cola (Japan) Co., Ltd. Drew ‘87 & Jennifer Little William Ross

Different Points of View

Gifts in Honor & Memory

Alice Kuwahara, in honor of Susan Islascox Jerry '81 & Bonnie Livingston

Matching Coporations

Anonymous (1) Deere & Company GAP Japan K.K. Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs Japan Co., Ltd. Google Cloud Japan Microsoft Netflix T Rowe Price Japan KK The Vanguard Group

Corporate

AFLAC International, Inc.

See school from a variety of different perspectives in our new Point of View video series and get a look at some of the exciting activities students are engaged in. See the field from a football player’s eyes, experience a dynamic rehearsal for the middle school musical, or what it looks like to try indigo dyeing for the first time. Watch the ongoing series on YouTube @asij.

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 there are tax and other financial benefits associated with planned giving, the most meaningful reward is knowing that your gift will leave a legacy and have an impact on future generations of our students.

Members

Irene Anderson ‘74 & James Somes

Pamela Jones-Morton, PhD

Dave ‘60 & Jeannine Bergt Frederick Cohen ‘69

Julia Ludlow-Ortner ‘72 & Robert Ortner

Peter & Pam Cooper

Dick Muhl

Thurman Dennis ‡

Kerry & Lynn Nichols

Ray Downs ‘50 ‡

David Nicodemus 1933 ‡

Vicky Downs

David Proctor

Bruce Forgrieve ‘77

Hideko Shibata ‘66

Kenneth Glazier ‘67

Ronald Snyder ‡

Mary Harada ‘81

John Sullivan ‡

Frederick Harris ‡

Carl Sundberg ‘77

Robert Haven ‡

Chizu Suzuki ‘64

Ann Hesselink ‘71

George Ting ‘64

Abigail Hoffsommer 1927 ‡

Robin ‘67 & Ludd Trozpek

Walter Hoffsommer 1929 ‡

Jeffrey Tunis

James Huddle ‘70

Brent Ware ‘74

‡ Deceased

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FINANCIAL UPDATE 23-24 0.3%

Investments

2.8%

5.3%

7.5% Other

7.8%

Annual Support

Facilities

5.3% Admin/ Other

Instructional Support

Operating Expenses 23-24

Operating Revenues 23-24

Note: 2023-24 figures are not final and unaudited, and as of June 30, 2024.

89.4% Tuition

81.1%

Salary & Benefits

Total ASIJ Annual Fund: ¥150,455,675 ASIJ Endowment: ¥1,227,672,165

ASIJ’s permanently restricted endowment was established in 2022. The expendable income is allocated at the discretion of the Board of Directors for projects and programs of the greatest priority aligned with the mission of ASIJ. Endowed funds further ASIJ’s legacy of support for faculty and students. Contributions to the endowment give the school flexibility and confidence to grow and improve as strategic developments and initiatives change to reflect the world in which ASIJ is Shaping Tomorrow’s Leaders Today.

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Mustang Mentor W

illiam “Bill” Jacobsson (FF ’75–08, P ’05, ’06) passed away on August 30, 2024, at the age of 81. Bill was born on October 17, 1942, in Detroit, Michigan, the second son in an all-boy family. After graduating from Lutheran High School Westland, he went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in education from Concordia College and later a master’s in secondary education with a focus on math from Hofstra University. Bill began his teaching career at Long Island Lutheran in Brookville, New York, teaching middle and high school mathematics for 11 years. There, he refereed basketball where he infamously called a foul on a young player known at the time as Lewis Alcindor. His family remembers, “Kareem Abdul-Jabbar may have been one of the first student athletes to get called out by Coach Jacobsson’s whistle, but he certainly wasn’t the last."

his first couple of years and told Hanabi reporters in October 1975: “I like the modular system because it provides a lot of free time for teachers to be with students on an informal basis.” Bill did admit to them that adjusting to this new style of teaching and the focus on building relationships with students often left him having to stay late to catch up on grading geometry papers. He told the student newspaper that he also enjoyed chatting with people outside of school, saying that he enjoyed “shopping in the little stores and striking up conversations with people.” In addition to working in the math department, Bill took on the role of assistant Varsity football coach and JV basketball coach his first year — the JV team ended the season at the top of the league with a 12-3 record. It was the first of many successful seasons for the teams Bill coached during his long career at school.

After over a decade at Long Island Lutheran, Bill took a leap of faith and came to ASIJ. He initially taught mathematics for

From the start of the school year in 1977, Bill moved over to physical education and remained at ASIJ as a PE teacher

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Bill with the 1984 Varsity Boys Basketball team

Bill with Landon Budge ’01 (P ’27, ’29, ’31) at the 2014 New York Reception

Bill coaching football in 1975

and basketball, baseball, and football coach until he retired in 2008. When asked why he moved from math to PE, he liked to say “Because PE is fun!” He would often have students hanging out around the gym and popping into impromptu dodgeball games — never did a student want an impromptu math quiz.

During his time in Japan, Bill met his wife Sandra (FF ’72–’77, ’81–’87, ’95–’96, P ’05, ’06), with whom he adopted three beautiful children: Peter ’06, Sarah ’05, and Timmy ’06 (FF’11-’24). Bill is remembered by his family as “an incredible father, brother, uncle, friend, teacher, coach, and all-around mentor to all of us throughout the years.” At his memorial service in Myrtle Beach note was made of his effortlessly groan-inducing dad jokes, memorable catchphrases, and unwavering optimism. “​​I was deeply saddened to hear of Bill's passing,” former Elementary School administrative assistant AIleen Kanoh told us. “I knew him more as a devoted father than as a colleague, having had the pleasure of working with his three children—

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Timmy, Peter, and Laura—during my time at the elementary school.” She described Bill and Sandy as “genuinely kind people, wholeheartedly supportive of their children.”

After Bill moved departments from math to athletics in 1977, ASIJ was down a math teacher and Gene Witt was hired to replace him in the classroom. Gene and his wife Janet worked alongside Bill and Sandy at ASIJ for almost 30 years, learning from each other, raising their kids together, and coaching together. Gene remembers looking up to Bill and his coaching style, learning a lot from him when he started. Gene says, “over time our girls basketball teams became really quite strong and I have a lot to owe to Bill on that as a mentor, he really guided me.”

Bill coached many teams including basketball, football, and baseball for various periods during his tenure at ASIJ. He was demanding and intense but also loving and supportive, wanting to get the best out of every player. It was important to him that every student who wanted to had a chance to participate. He created Varsity and Junior Varsity B teams that

Former Head of School Tim Carr (FF ’03–10, P ’07, ’09), Jon Winslow ’83, Bill Jacobsson, Barbara Carr (FF ’05–10, P ’07, ’09) and Sandy Jacobsson at the New York Reception in 2020. would play against local Japanese basketball teams rather than the international and base schools on the weekends, always adding extra games to the schedule, beyond the 16 regular season ones. The whole team would take the subway all over Tokyo to play any team that he could find willing to play against ASIJ. Gene remembers how different the game was than the ASIJ students were used to, the players wiping down the court, taking their shoes off before entering the gymnasium and changing out of their street shoes, no heat in the gym, benched players standing and cheering for the entirety of the game. These were great memories for students and staff alike.

Bill “took his role as teacher and mentor seriously. He was tough but fair, he could be stubborn, but supportive” colleague and friend Karen Seevers (FF ‘77-’87 P ‘04 ’06) told us. Bill was a lifelong friend, and mentor, to the Seevers, even serving as the best man at John and Karen’s wedding. Karen remembers preparing to coach the girls’ basketball team, “I must have spent hours in the gym watching Bill coach his team...taking notes, learning drills and plays,” she recalled.

The study of Bill’s approach paid off and the team took the

Far East Championship that year. The Seevers and Jacobsson families grew up together and their children now carry on the lifelong friendship forged at ASIJ. Peter Durfee ‘88 had Bill as his PE teacher and as a “hoops coach” in his Varsity season and tells us that “Coach Jake did [so much] for our generation … he was doing everything he could to get our best out of us, as always.” Tomas Gistren ‘87 shared that sentiment saying, “Coach ‘Jake’ was not only my B-ball coach, but my mentor throughout high school … I will pass on to my son what you taught me, Coach.”

Mentorship is a theme that appears again and again when people remember Bill. “Coach Jake was my football coach from 1984-1987. He coached us linemen in the muddy back field. He was relentless, demanding, intense, loving, hilarious, and supportive. He was one of those mentors you never forget,” Bryan Gibb ‘87 told us. “I learned a lot from that man. How to give a good forearm shiver, how to enjoy the game, how to be a good sport and show respect, and how to win and lose with dignity. I have not seen him since graduation 1987, but think of him often.”

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“

It was amazing how many alums would come back to campus and want to see him, he had a real passion and dedication to working with student athletes and their individual growth — that was really important to him

ˮ

John Seevers (FF ’77–17, P ’04, ’06) on the field with Bill.

“It was amazing how many alums would come back to campus and want to see him, he had a real passion and dedication to working with student athletes and their individual growth — that was really important to him” Gene Witt said.

Paul Kidder ‘76 told us “I find it hard to believe he and I only overlapped one year at ASIJ as he is one of the reasons why today I describe my years at ASIJ as magical. He was the kind of coach who took an interest in his players beyond the field, and he was always one of the first people I would look for each time I returned to Tokyo.” It wasn’t just on campus that Bill reconnected with former students and athletes, he was also a regular attendee of our receptions in the United States following his retirement — the last being our 2020 event in New York.

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In 2011, Bill’s son Timmy followed in his parents’ footsteps and returned to ASIJ to work in the athletics office just three years after his father’s retirement. After several years of teaching, coaching and nine years working as the assistant activities and athletics director, Timmy took over as the activities and athletics director. “I know his parents were very proud when Timmy became the athletic director,” Aileen Kanoh recalled. In a 2019 interview with us, Timmy recalled, “I was actually texting my dad the other day and one of the things that stood out to me was that all the work you’re doing — it’s for the kids in the end. Whatever you can do to make sure they have a good experience.”

ALUMNI

Reunions

2023 CATALINA ISLAND

CLUSTER REUNION Annie Cambell ’66 and Leslie Okada Roberts ’66 share about three days of warm connections and Mustang Spirit at this gathering of the Classes of 1964–1971

C

atalina was the perfect setting for our long overdue and eagerly awaited multi-class reunion! In a lifetime of traveling, so many of us had never visited this enchanting island and were very excited to spend time there with fellow “wearers of the black and gold.” It must be said that we adore all the husbands, wives, partners, and children that so faithfully come to our reunions, and they have become part of our ASIJ family. The celebration began well before we arrived in Avalon, greeting each other joyfully as we boarded the ferries and ran into dear friends

while cruising past dolphins toward our destination. Over the many years of wonderful reunions from our thirties to our seventies, there has never been more appreciation of how precious our time together is. And so the theme that ran like a beautiful thread, through every conversation and event, was an expression of gratitude for beloved longtime friendships, for new ones formed and for ASIJ where it all began. Stories told and retold, photos from high school and past reunions shared—such a treasured gift for all of us.

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ALUMNI

George Ting ’64 and Annie Nichols Campbell ’66

There was so much to celebrate! Eighty of us gathered for the class of 1968’s 55th reunion, the class of 1966’s delayed (thanks to COVID) 55th and the coming together of all the classes that have for four decades joined our multi-class reunions. We carried in our hearts throughout those who couldn’t join us because of health issues and the many we’ve lost too early.

Our evenings were festive and delightful, each one showcasing a different experience of Catalina’s serenity and beauty. Many of us arrived a day early and gathered for a fabulous seafood dinner at Bluewater Grill, overlooking the picture-perfect harbor. Our October 24 Welcome Reception was held outdoors with perfect weather on the lovely lightstrung patio of our hotel, in the hills above town. There was much heartwarming hugging as wave after wave of attendees arrived, and we were “home” again together. On October 25, ASIJ hosted a magical evening at Catherine’s Terrace at Descansco Beach, an elegant and gorgeous venue complete with exquisite food, wine and a breathtaking view of the ocean at sunset. Unending thanks to former ASIJ Alumni Coordinator Miranda Liu, Interim Director of Advancement Claire Lonergan, and Director of Strategic Partnerships Ryosuke Suzuki for this special time of feasting and of an inspiring presentation of ASIJ today and of impressive future plans for our alma mater. These three honored guests worked with us through the years of planning the reunion and their help was invaluable. They stayed throughout the reunion, hiring a photographer to capture every event, and

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Reunions

Jerrie Kydd ’67 and her sister Leslie Okada Roberts ’66 (FF ’71–73, ’75–77, ’07–13) spent much time getting to know all of us. We are blessed to have them in Tokyo constantly keeping us connected to our school! October 26 was our last evening together, and we enjoyed our outstanding Sayonara Dinner right on the beach, feet in sand, catered by Steve’s Steakhouse.

Our days were equally wonderful, beginning on October 25 with all of us gathered to listen to TED Talks presented

by Linda Purl ’73, George Ting ’64, Mara Purl ’68, Billy Picon ’66 (who honored his beloved and recently deceased sister, Louise Picon Shimizu ’64), Toni Dyktor Mullen ’68 and Alex Halpern ’66. The overall theme was the way in which ASIJ and Japan had influenced and even changed the trajectory of their lives. October 26 was devoted to individual class gatherings and leisure time to explore the coastline and hillsides with golf carts, snorkeling, parasailing, zip lining, hiking, shopping, enjoying wonderful food and libations on outdoor patios overlooking stunning waterfront views—and most importantly, just hanging out with each other.

Nick Connor ’68, Leslie Okada Roberts ’66, Annie Nichols Campbell ’66 and Dave Sakamoto ’68 thank everyone who attended for your outpouring of gratitude for time spent organizing this event. So many told us this was the best reunion ever! And witnessing the farewells as our ferries departed, filled with heartfelt connection, appreciation of each other and of the gift of being together again, and the fervent hope we would gather together soon—we agree!

ALUMNI

Reunions

Jeannie See Bronsal ‘66 and Jill Connor Latimer ‘71

Alex Halpern ‘66, Peter Kalischer ‘66 (P ’04) and Sean Barnett ‘66

Mara Purl ‘68 and her sister Linda Purl ‘73

Bob Morris ‘66, Paul Pratt ‘66, Nancy Van Wyk Phillips ‘66, and George Yen ‘66

Reunion organizers Toni Dyktor Mullen ‘68, Dave Sakamoto ‘68, Leslie Okada Roberts ‘66, Annie Nichols Campbell ‘66, and Nick Conner ‘68 were honored with black and gold leis.

Nancy Van Wyk Phillips ‘66 and Daniel Marsh ‘66

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ALUMNI

Reunions

Gathering for dinner on day two

Jackie Connor ‘69 and Peter Harnik ‘69

Peggy Norris ‘65, Frank Guillart ‘65 and Nancy Nagase Kurahashi ‘65

Nancy Krill ‘67 and Robin Trozpek ‘67

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ALUMNI

Reunions

Enjoying dinner on day three of the reunion

Terry Herzik ’64 and wife Deborah

Jackie Connor ’69, Nick Connor ’68 and Jill Connor Latimer ’71 Dave Sakamoto ‘68, Michi Stuart Olson ‘64, and George Ting ‘64

Stephanie Anderson ‘70

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ALUMNI

Reunions

2023 SAN FRANCISCO

CLASS OF ’73 50TH REUNION Leif Neve ’73 fondly recounts three days of meaningful reminiscences and new connections

O

ver three fun-filled days last October, the Class of ’73 held its 50th cluster reunion in San Francisco for a record number of attendees from across the globe. Over 120 alumni and family representing almost all the classes from the 1970’s, and traveling from as far away as Japan, Hawaii, Dubai and Germany, descended on the Hotel Kabuki in Japantown for a busy weekend of socializing, dining, and dancing. Friendships were renewed, old stories were retold, and the decades which had kept us apart melted away.

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The event included San Francisco sightseeing, various breakout gatherings of classes and other groups (including a large ICU one), visits to local Japanese restaurants and a morning of spirited roundtable discussions led by internationally acclaimed author and educator Mary Yoko Brannen Mughan ’74 on the topic of Third Culture Kids. A wildly popular slideshow set to the music of the era and encapsulating our ASIJ experience was produced by the organizing committee and shown repeatedly to smiles, tears and hugs from all.

ALUMNI

Reunions Lucy Ghoda '73 and Ted Dale '74

Paul Nagata '74 and Lisa DeYoung Jastram '74

Darice Fong Koo ‘73 and Len Weaverling ‘73

Claudia Carroll '73 and Annie Rabinowitz Dantzig '73

ASIJ Director of Giving Nikki Torchon and former Alumni Coordinator Miranda Liu joined us on Saturday evening to host a cocktail hour to help us celebrate this milestone event.

Prior to the gathering, attendees were asked to write brief accounts of how they came to be at ASIJ, and what they did after, to get to know one another better. This turned out to be a highlight of the reunion for many. To those folks who wanted to attend but could not, we missed you and hope to see you next time!

More photos, including all class pictures:

Leif Neve '73 and Paul Kidder '76

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ALUMNI

Receptions

’00s and beyond group photo

2024 Tokyo, Japan

ALUMNI RECEPTION

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’80s decade group photo

ALUMNI

Receptions

Farida Rahman ’68 with her sister Afifah Yamasaki P ’03

Chelsea Jones 14 and Saaya Imura ’11

W

e hosted over 100 alumni across seven decades, alumni parents, and former faculty and staff at Meiji Kinenkan for our annual alumni community reception. There were alumni who are transitioning into a well deserved retirement and folks who are just starting burgeoning careers, it was a great space to learn from each other and connect with friends new and old.

After a welcome from our Chief Advancement Officer, Anne Cunningham, Minako Abe ‘88, a member of our Alumni Council, spoke about the strength of the community at ASIJ. She said, “what makes [ASIJ] so special are the human connections, the collective experience and unique community that it fosters. To this day, many of my closest friends are the ones I made all the way back in grade school and high school.” Abe says her connection has come “full circle” now having two children who attend the school. Jim Hardin, Head of School shared some closing remarks as this was his final Tokyo Alumni Community Reception before he retires, saying it has been “the honor of his career” to work alongside the ASIJ community.

Back to back with Spirit Day (previously Homecoming), the Alumni Reception was a place for reminiscing on all things ASIJ. Two lucky winners also got to take home some highly coveted swag from our newly launched Mustang Market, select items will soon be available for purchase in the US.

’90s decade group photo

Laura Conwill ’08 and Dean Wenstrand

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ALUMNI

Alumni Connect

ALUMNI CONNECT EVENTS Vancouver potluck Sandra Orton Tweed '85 hosted a potluck for Vancouver Mustangs. Sandra shares, “We had alumni from the Class of '74 all the way to 2021! We also had 4 former faculty members!

It was so nice to see everyone and chat about what brought them to the Vancouver, BC area. Can't wait till the next one!”

From left to right: Haruka Higo '15, John Smith (FS '05–11), Shelley Smith (FS '05–11), Joe Vogt '91, Sandra Orton Tweed '85, Isabella Ouellette '21, Ummy Chaivaivid '20, Edward Staples (FS '98–08), Nienke Klaver (FS '98–08), Bill Manuel '74, Marie Orton (P '85), and George Redlinger '78

Industry Webinar with Crystal ’93 and Chris Sacca ASIJ virtually hosted renowned investors Crystal English Sacca ’93 and Chris Sacca. Joined by moderator Deanna Elstrom ’86 (P ’23, ‘24). Crystal and Chris shared their fascinating career journeys and answered questions about the realms of investing and sustainability. Crystal spoke as to how her roots at ASIJ influenced her career—in fact, one alum participant shared, “I liked the way Crystal tied everything back to her time at ASIJ. It was like listening to a superhero origin story.” Of particular interest were Crystal and Chris’s insights as to the traits that make founders successful and why supporting environmentally sustainable projects is the most profitable thing to do.

Scan to watch the webinar

Tokyo Alumni Connect Hanami Alumni from around Tokyo gathered for a hanami cherry blossom-viewing picnic in Meguro on Mar 30. “Our picnic on Saturday was great, despite there being very few sakura,” Deanna Elstrom ’86 (P ’23, ‘24) commented. “We had perfect weather, and a great crew came!”

Deanna and husband Peter (P ’23, ‘24) were joined by Rob Jordan ’87, David Lee ’86, Buddy Marini ’85 (P ’27) and family, Tai Okuno ’15, Rida Sadler ’86 (P ‘19, ‘19) with husband Deane (P ‘19, ’19) and son Zenon ’19, Ruka Sakurai ’02, and Robert Sharp ’87 and partner Anne Trinca.

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ALUMNI

Reunions

REUNIONS

’94

30th Reunion Tokyo June, 2024

1994 alumni and their family members spent a weekend together in June in celebration of their 30th reunion.

Among their activities together was a tour back to campus, which many alumni had not visited since their graduation.

Special thanks to Mimi Kano ’94 and Margaret MacCallum ’94 for organizing.

’99

25th Reunion Honolulu, HI June 28-29, 2024

The Class of 1999 had a great time at their Hawaii reunion on June 28 and 29! Naomi Hayase writes: "ASIJ Class of ‘99 enjoyed a weekend of catching up with classmates and family and friends in Honolulu, HI. On Friday, we got to check out George Quaiver '99’s taco truck, Tacos de Cacheton. On Saturday, we celebrated at the beautiful Outrigger Canoe Club.”

ASIJ alumni pictured from left to right: (Front rows) Shoko (Watanabe) Basso '99, Claire Goldberg '99, Beth (Dyba) Ogbahon '99, Suzy (Hull) Birkeland '99, Jennifer Paulson '99, Julie Watt '99, Naomi Hayase '99, Abby Yew '99, Coral (Snell) Balubar '99, Chris Seta '99, George Quaiver '99 (Back row) Mike Artiss '01, Stefan Roesch '99.

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ALUMNI

’14

Reunions

10th Reunion New York City June 8, 2024

The Class of 2014 gathered in New York City on June 8 to celebrate their 10th Reunion. Over 50 classmates and family members attended, and three classmates served as DJs for the event! They enjoyed reminiscing about their Tokyo days and catching up with one another, along with food, drink, and plenty of ASIJ swag. “Overall, it was an incredibly successful night!” shared Class Agent Akira Camargo ’14.

’04

20th Reunion Tokyo / Dallas, TX 2024

The Class of 2004 recently celebrated their 20th reunion across the globe! Alumni in Asia hosted a celebratory dinner in Tokyo while alumni in North America gathered in Dallas for a weekend together. 2004’s Student Body President Casey Christianson lived up to his role and even attended both events on subsequent weekends!

Special thanks to organizers Jason, Arisa, Casey, Aya, Karin, Ken, Ruri, Lindsay, Mary, David, and Phil. Everyone enjoyed the opportunity to reconnect and is looking forward to an even bigger reunion in five years.

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ALUMNI

Upcoming Reunions

MAY 16-18 2025 Class of ’74

50th Reunion in Chicago We are EXCITED to announce the dates of our 50th Class Reunion in Chicago: May 16–18, 2025!

After tabulating our survey results and checking venue availability, we arrived at the conclusion that a weekend reunion in the spring of 2025 was a much more viable option for most of our classmates than would be possible during what remains of 2024.

Keeping in mind that there are those of us who live on fixed incomes now and are budget-conscious, it is our intention to keep our reunion costs "modest".

And given that there are also classmates living in the Midwest who can make a day-trip of it to Chicagoland by car, who might not want to or be able to participate in all three days of organized gatherings, we are also exploring the possibility of offering a Saturday-only a la carte option. Pricing and details coming soon!

We're looking to expand our core team to organize the nitty-gritty reunion details. (Several classmates — you know who you are — have already expressed an interest.) If you have a background or experience in finance, hospitality, event planning, etc. and are interested in volunteering some of your time over the next few months, please email us at reunion@asij74.com. おきづかいありがとうございました!

See you in Chicago!

Steve, Yen, Dayne and Mirja

JUNE 21 2025 Class of ’05 welcoming ’03–’07

20th Class Reunion in Tokyo Please join us for the Class of 2005 Cluster Reunion in Tokyo! We are excited to welcome ASIJ alumni from the Classes of 2003 through 2007.

After tabulating initial survey results, it was determined that a summertime, one-day event, was most favored.

There was also an interest in incorporating familyfriendly activities. As most of our survey responses were based in Tokyo, it seemed like the most logical location, and we are so excited for the event to take place at ASIJ, given its significance to us all!

While we want to hear from you (yes, you!) regarding specific activities, here is our current plan: daytime activities will be held on ASIJ’s Chofu campus, and the fun will resume later in downtown Tokyo during the evening.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to any of the reunion committee members below.

We hope to see you there!

Nick Harris ’05 (nickharrisjapan@gmail.com) and Tatsu Izumi ’05 (izumtat@gmail.com), reunion chairs

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ALUMNI

Class Agents

William L. Cryderman 1955 wcryderman@comcast.net 1974 Class Agent Required Reiko E. Niimi 1975 rniimi@gmail.com 1956 Mei Sun Li

Yuki P. Maddox Vos 1995 pearlvos@hotmail.com

meisunli@comcast.net

Sandra L. Maclver Thompson

sandra.thompson3@ comcast.net

Charles C. Wu 1957 wucc57@gmail.com

1958 Class Agent Required 1959 Class Agent Required David E. Bergt 1960 dbergt@comcast.net Isao Okada Herring 1961 jayokada@gmail.com Kiki Skagen Munshi kiki@skagenranch.com

Katherine C. 1962 Bauernschmidt Clarke kcbclarke@gmail.com

William L. Martino 1963 txmartino@yahoo.com Nancy Wu

naninvan@me.com

Bonner 1964 David dbonner@regenevita.com Scott Hutchinson 1965 jshutch47@gmail.com Susan Broe Parmelee Sparmelee2@gmail.com

Annie Nichols 1966 Campbell

campbell.annie@gmail.com

1967

Elizabeth M. 1976 Yanagihara Horwitz liz@lizhorwitz.com

E. Sundberg 1977 Carl carl_sundberg_ja@yahoo.com Deanna Adams Smith 1978 deannasmith1959@gmail.com Cheryl Wise 1979 shareallwise@gmail.com Margaret Meiers 1980 margaretmeiers@yahoo.com Sherry L. Davis Tighe 1981 tighezoo@sbcglobal.net Lisa Bastick 1982 omalasq@mac.com George Mimura 1983 georgemimura@yahoo.com

grendamoss@yahoo.com

Nicholas D. Connor 1968 ndconnor@yahoo.com David T. Sakamoto dave.sakamoto@ infoontheweb.com

Laura B. Hertenstein 1969 Swanson laura@iswanson.com

Daniel Garnitz 1970 dangar46@yahoo.com K. Kobata 1971 Kathy kkobata21@gmail.com

Simon

Linnea M. Hasegawa 1989 tamagomeshi@yahoo.com Samantha Fritz Hurd samf@austin.rr.com

Kentaro K. Relnick 1990 krelnick@me.com Galles 1991 Maiko maikomizutani@hotmail.com Jeff Kelsch 1992 jeff@kelsch.com Briney Burley 1993 Briney@gmail.com Mayumi Nakayama

mayumi.kathi@gmail.com

Linda Suzukawa-Tseng 1972 sutseng@wonder.ocn.

Midori Kano 1994 mkano128@gmail.com ne.jp

Leif Neve 1973 leifneve@gmail.com

Vicky Carter Chen 1997 vickycarter@hotmail.com Sarah Godfrey

sgodfrey617@gmail.com

Rose E. Hastings 1998 rosehastings@gmail.com Kacie E. Rosenberg Leviton kacie_r@hotmail.com

Naomi D. Hayase 1999 naomidhayase@gmail.com Tamina M. Plum

taminaplum@gmail.com

Gary T. Yamada 2000 asijagent2000@gmail.com Paulene Kawasjee

paulene.kawasjee@gmail. com

Aimee Singer

Kana Maeji

kanamaeji12@gmail.com

Hannah T. Siegel 2011 hannahtsiegel@gmail.com Philip T. Tseng

philtseng7@gmail.com

Seung Joon Sung 2012 sjsung94@gmail.com Lia Camargo 2013 lollia1108@gmail.com Andrew Deck

andrewdeck227@gmail.com

Akira Camargo 2014 akiracamargo01@gmail.com Sayuri Sekimitsu

sayurisekimitsu@gmail.com

Mina F. Hattori 2015 minahattori@me.com Haruka Higo

jjriko4@gmail.com

Ray M. Hotta 2016 ray.hotta@yahoo.com 1984 Class Agent Required 2001 Kyoko Minegishi kyoko.minegishi@gmail.com Sandra L. Orton Tweed Allessandra Rogers 1985 sandra@prestonmatthews.com 2017 rogeal01@luther.edu Anna L. Tuttle Delia 2002 annalynnosu@gmail.com Andy Takagi Diane E. Stewart Wack 1986 diwack@msn.com andy.takagi@gmail.com Tyler Beesley 2003 tyler_beesley@hotmail.com Hikari Shumsky 2018 hikarishumsky@gmail.com Robert L. Sharp 1987 robert@robertsharp.com Jason Mothersill 2004 jasonmothersill@gmail.

Kenichiro Bernier 2019 b.kenichiro@gmail.com Sergei P. Hasegawa 1988 sergei@purekitchen.com com Arman Balian 2020 armanbalian@me.com 2005 Tatsuya Izumi Kathrine L. Schmitt schm0495@gold.tc.umn.edu

Grenda F. Penhollow Moss

Sunny Shimizu 1996 sunny_shimizu@hotmail.com

Janet H. Kanzawa 2010 janet.kanzawa@gmail.com

Margaret R. MacCallum

margaretreiko@gmail.com

aimeefrancine@gmail.com

izumtat@gmail.com

Nick Harris

nickharrisjapan@gmail. com

Tai Dirkse 2006 tdirkse@asij.ac.jp Mana Sasaki Kalohelani mkalohelani@gmail.com

Carly Baird 2007 baird.carly@gmail.com Rosalind E. Onions

rosalind.onions@gmail.com

Miles Bird 2008 miles.t.bird@gmail.com Jemil Satterfield

jemilsatt05@gmail.com

Celine MaedaTarumoto

celinemaedatarumoto@ gmail.com

Karen Fukuda 2021 karenfukuda16@gmail.com Joshua Inahara

inaharaj3@gmail.com

Nio Kwan 2022 niokwan@me.com Ellie Reidenbach

ellie.reidenbach@gmail.com

Ryan Haddad 2023 ryanhaddad23@gmail.com Tomo Ishikawa

tomokinyc215@gmail.com

Caitlin E. McHose 2009 caitlin.mchose@gmail.com Ito 2024 Anna annaito110@gmail.com Ashley Teslik

ashleyteslik@gmail.com

Campbell Little

camredlittle@gmail.com

Shaan Shah

shaanshah831@gmail.com

Want to volunteer as a class agent? alumni@asij.ac.jp THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN

ALUMNI

Obituaries

Sayonara

Bob Neff ’65 .

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obert “Bob” Neff ’65 passed away in his home in Hayama, Japan, on July 31, 2024, after a long illness.

Born in Missouri to missionaries, he moved to Japan with his parents in his early teens and enrolled in ASIJ in eighth grade. As a student, Bob was involved in student council. He earned a BA in political science from the University of Michigan, where he continued to be active in student government, and ended up back at ASIJ in 1969 where he taught Problems of Democracy and ran the high school guided studies center. Returning to the states with a low draft number, Bob was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War and spent two years doing janitorial work at a hospital as his form of national service. It was then he felt a desire to become a journalist, and, after earning a masters from the University of Missouri School of Journalism, he started his career at Pacific Business News in Honolulu before moving to the Los Angeles bureau of Businessweek in 1977, where he met his wife, Fumiko.

Bob transferred to McGraw-Hill News in Tokyo in 1979, and continued rising in his career in London and New York before returning back to Tokyo as Businessweek’s bureau chief. After leaving the magazine, he became executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan.

Having developed a native fluency of Japanese, Bob also enjoyed exploring Japan, and was well known for his famous onsen guide, Japan’s Hidden Hot Springs, as well as his love of karaoke and knowledge of Tokyo’s nightlife. Bob was also well known for his Businessweek cover story, “Rethinking Japan,” taking a remarkably bold approach at the time about Japan economics and politics. He is remembered as “a great journalist, a wonderful man.” He is survived by his wife, Fumiko Sekizawa, his sisters Nancy '67 and Suzi '69, and their families. He was predeceased by his parents and his brother, John ’72.

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ALUMNI

Obituaries

Sayonara

Martin Swist

FF ’97-’12, P ’03

M

artin Swist FS (‘97-’12, P ’03) beloved member of the ASIJ community, passed away on July 9, 2024.

He was a beloved librarian, advisor, and friend to many in the ASIJ community. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him. During his time in Tokyo, Marty taught at The American School in Japan, where he found immense joy and fulfillment as a middle school librarian. His dedication to the school was evident in his enthusiastic involvement in the academic and personal development of his students. Marty played a special role to students in his advisory, where he provided not only educational guidance but also emotional support and mentorship. He was cherished by his students and colleagues for his kindness, passion for teaching, with his past students noting the library as “a sanctuary” because of him, and his quick wit, always ready with a smile and a joke.

More than anything, Marty loved being a member of the ASIJ community, as well as a grandfather, father, and husband. He enjoyed spending time with his students, friends, and family, sharing stories, telling jokes, and cherishing the moments together. He was always there to offer guidance, support, and encouragement.

Marty was a graduate of Andrew Warde High School, Sacred Heart University, and Fairfield University. Marty loved his career as a librarian, working around the world in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Manila, Philippines, and most notably, Tokyo, Japan. Marty is survived by his wife Jessica and his son Jason and family.

“Mr Swist was one of those teachers you hear about as a kid that will stay with you forever..[he] always knew the right quirky book to point you towards. [I] will never forget his penchant for the Mad series. Fly High.” - Alexander Paul Turner ’11

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ALUMNI

Obituaries

Sayonara

John Bush ’72 J

ohn Bush ’72, recipient of two Emmy awards for his work on The Simpsons and Jane Austen's Emma, passed away on Nov 23, 2023. Born in Albert Lea, MN, John attended ASIJ for 12 years through graduation.

He was known by friends and classmates at the time for his signature long hair, and remembered for his sarcasm and good jokes in the 1972 Chochin. After ASIJ, John majored in theater arts at San Francisco State College before going on to work in animation.

John spent several years acting in stage productions, including a multi-year run on the hit musical Beach Blanket Babylon in San Francisco from 1980 to 1981. He eventually moved to Los Angeles, and in 1985, appeared on the game show Super Password, where he won over $23,000. It was while trying to establish himself as an actor in LA that Bush picked up a job at Vestron Productions, where he began working in production for the first time.

the show as an animation executive producer. John’s other credits include X-Men: Evolution, The Oblongs, and Clerks, among a vast range of children’s and adult animation films, shorts, and series. He won an Emmy for the outstanding art direction on Jane Austen's Emma in 1997.

Outside of the industry, John was active in the San Francisco and Los Angeles gay rights communities and would frequently attend protests and marches. A huge fan of the cinema, John especially loved musicals and campy comedies.

John is survived by his sister Mary Bush ’68, brother Richard Bush ’70, sister-in-law Geralyn Watts Bush ’72, and niece Taylyn Bush ’07.

John’s production career spanned over three decades, during which he worked on a wide range of projects. He served as a producer on early episodes of Family Guy, animation executive producer on King of the Hill, and was a line producer on some of Warner Bros. Animation’s early forays into CG animation. His longest consecutive tenure at any studio was at Hyperion Pictures, where he worked for six years in the 90s. His producer credits at Hyperion include well-loved 90s children’s hits such as The Brave Little Toaster films and The Oz Kids series.

John worked for many of the most well-known animation studios in the United States, including Disney, Warner Bros.

Animation, and Film Roman, the studio famous for adult cartoons such as The Simpsons, King of the Hill, and Family Guy. He won the Emmy for outstanding animated program for his work on The Simpsons in 2001, and was also Emmynominated for the next season. He spent three seasons on

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ALUMNI BILL ABBATE ‘81, passed away on August 9, 2024. Bill and his brother Paul ‘84 attended ASIJ, where Bill discovered his passion for on air radio announcing. He later worked as a rock DJ at WFNX-FM and other Boston radio stations. He was a talented musicologist who interviewed many national musical artists, helped local musicians gain exposure, and curated a large personal music library. He is survived by his brother, Paul, his wife Alive, his sons, and his parents. He will be remembered as a brilliant, gregarious, kind, hard-working and loyal man of good humor.

MELISSA “MISSY” BRINKMANN ‘93 passed away on June 8, 2024. After graduating from ASIJ, Missy earned her degree from University of Virginia and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Air Force. She quickly gained the respect of troops under her command, her leadership being an incredible blend of grit, confidence, and personality. Missy was honored with an Air Force Achievement Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal and many more. Later in her career she became a senior Vice President (VP) at Bank of America, VP of Strategy and Consulting at Anthem, and finally Managing Director and Account Executive at Accenture. Melissa believed in service, empowering others and giving back. Melissa is survived by her three beautiful children, Jackson, Colton, and Gage, and her sisters, Jessica ‘94, Vanessa ’97, and Samantha ’06.

FRANK CLARKE ’61, of Vancouver, WA, passed away on Feb 1, 2024 at the age of 80. Born in Portland, OR, Frank and his family moved to Tokyo due to his father’s job, where Frank spent his high school years and graduated from ASIJ. He then obtained his bachelors at Oregon State University.

Following graduation, he was immediately induced into the Army to serve in Vietnam. Returning in 1967, he then moved to the Seattle area where he eventually became director of the Port of Seattle.

During this time, Frank earned his master’s degree at Harvard Business School. After retiring from the Port in 1993, Frank had his own consulting firm until 1996 while also working for the SSA until 2007. He is survived by his wife Jane, his daughter Heather Main, stepchildren Julles and John Alt, and many grandchildren and step-grandchildren.

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Obituaries HELEN L. DELANEY ’75 passed away on October 7, 2024. Helen attended ASIJ for the final three years of high school after transferring from Nishimachi International School. She graduated from Cornell University with a BA and then Berkeley School of Law with a Juris Doctor at the top of her class. She was a litigation attorney and entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles before opening her own private law practice. Helen and her husband Steve Sundberg ’74 tied the knot in Dec of 2011, almost 40 years after their first date in 1972 at ASIJ, after which they lived happily in Minnesota. She will be remembered for her kindness, smile, and intellect.

SHIRLEY MITCHELL FARMER ’40, of Hudson, MA, passed away on Nov 26, 2023, at the age of 99. Born in Melrose, MA, Shirley moved with her family to Tokyo from 1927-33, where she attended ASIJ and her father, Charles Mitchell (FF 1927–33, P ’40, ‘44) served as headmaster. She later on returned to MA, where she graduated high school. In 1943, she received a degree in psychology from Radcliffe College, now Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, and her Masters at the University of Hartford.

Working as a research assistant at the Psycho-Acoustic Laboratory at Harvard University during WWII, she then completed the Harvard-Radcliffe Management Training Program in 1946.

With commitment and passion, Shirely continued to serve her community, including as president of the local PTA, president of the League of Women Voters, and secretary of the local school board. For her good work, she received the Volunteer of the Year Award in 1976 from the Mental Health Association of Los Angeles. In her later years of work, Shirley obtained a counseling license, and co-founded New Beginnings Counseling in Camarillo, CA. She found these to be the most rewarding ten years of her life, providing mental health services to the Ventura County community. She was predeceased by her father, her brother Charles Mitchell ’44, and is survived by her sister, Mary Jane Miranda, daughters Martha Wyant, Barbra Olson, and Miriam Kligerman.

CARL FISHER ’51, born in Lexington, NC, passed away at the age of 90 on Nov 17, 2023. After graduating from ASIJ, Carl finished his undergraduate studies at Sophia University in Tokyo, and earned a bachelor's degree at Lenoir-Rhyne College, in Hickory, NC. By 1973, Carl received a Master of Divinity degree from the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, a Master of Sacred Theology degree from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree conferred on him by Lenoir-Rhyne College. Carl served for 40 years in ministry at four different churches located throughout North Carolina,, Georgia, and Malaysia, and served 15 years as a missionary in Malaysia and Singapore. Active in many community organizations, Carl had multiple titles: Bishop of the Lutheran Church, director for service and development of Lutheran World

ALUMNI Ministries, Pastor Emeritus of Trinity Lutheran Church, Pastor Emeritus of Cross and Crown, and Honorary Mayor of Cusco, Peru.

Carl led an adventurous and devoted life and visited over 140 countries and all seven continents, and received multiple accolades and awards. He is survived by his wife, Miriam Fisher, sons Carl, Janthi, Jeremy, and William, and grandchildren.

WARREN ‘TOD’ FITZPATRICK ’63 passed away surrounded by family on July 20, 2024.

Born in Queens, NY, Tod spent his youth in Tokyo at ASIJ, and is part of the last class to graduate from the Meguro Campus, a fond memory that his close friends Matt Campbell ’63 and Edward Story ’63 hold dear. He later graduated from Georgetown University, Tufts Dental School, and the University of Washington, Seattle. He served as a Major in the US Air Force. After his service, Tod opened a periodontal practice in Rhode Island and retired after over 30 years. Tod is survived by his wife, Christine Kelly, and his three children, Justin, Cara, and Evan. Tod was an avid sailor and enjoyed golf and tennis.

HELEN HOPPER (FF ’65-67) passed away on Nov 14, 2022, at 84. Born in San Diego, CA, Helen spent her undergraduate years at Occidental College and the University of Hawaii. After college, she taught history at ASIJ for two years. Helen studied Japanese language at the University of Washington and Stanford University and Japanese history and literature at the University of California, Berkeley. She was admitted to the doctoral program in Japanese at Berkeley, however, as that program was only open to men at that time, she was required to be in the literature division. Instead of enrolling there, Helen left Berkeley with a masters and teaching certificate, and completed her PhD in the Department of History at Washington University in 1976. Using her degree, she taught Japanese history at universities and was the author of articles, reviews, and three books. One of her books, a biography of Japanese politician Kato Shidzue, A New Woman of Japan, was described as “a major contribution to the field of Japanese studies.” Her other books included Kato Shidzue: A Japanese Feminist and Fukuzawa Yukichi: From Samurai to Capitalist. She is survived by her husband Paul and son Justin and his family.

Obituaries SHANE JENKINS (FS ’99-’03), passed away on September 20, 2024 in Tokyo, Japan. Shane was a graduate of South Point High School and Ohio University. He had a rich career in both the US and Tokyo. He was the public relations director for the Ohio State Fair and Expositions Center and a reporter for the Ironton Tribune. At ASIJ he served as the Advancement Officer and Director of Communications and managed ASIJ’s Centennial Celebrations in Tokyo and San Francisco. He is survived by his wife of 34 years, Virginia.

CHUCK LEWIS (FF ’58–60) passed away at 90 years old on Feb 3, 2024. Born in Keokuk, Iowa, Chuck was valedictorian of the 1951 class of Peoria Manual High School, and graduated from Bradley University with both a bachelors and masters. After graduation, Chuck taught mathematics for one year and then was drafted into the army, serving as a mathematician mostly in Japan. Due to his love of Asia, Chuck stayed in Japan, teaching math at ASIJ, where he also served as the freshman class advisor.

Chuck continued to teach in the United States during the 60s, and did research work at Bradley University with the Gifted Children’s Program, earning a PhD in counseling psychology at the University of Wisconsin. During the 70s, he continued teaching and during summers began helping counseling missionaries and expatriates in Asia, later receiving the Putnam Award for excellence in teaching in 1975. In 1980, Chuck began his position as Director of Counseling at Wheaton College, and stayed heavily involved with counseling students who had grown up overseas and other overseas counseling opportunities. After retirement, he continued to serve a wide variety of mission agencies and NGOs around the world. He is survived by his wife, Susan, and their two children, Danny and Linda.

DON LITTLE (P ’85, ’87, ’92, GP ’24) of Griffin, GA, passed away on April 22, 2024.

Born in Detroit, MI, in 1941, he was proud to start with a $5,500 starting salary at Alcoa and climb the corporate ladder until 1981 when he moved with his family to Tokyo as the Vice President of Alcoa Japan. His children, John ’85, Drew ’87, and Adam ’92 and later his grandson, Campbell ’24, attended ASIJ. Don enjoyed raising many animals including Saint Bernards, cats, fish, and pythons, as well as dabbling in woodworking, boating, gardening, and snowmobiling.Upon retiring, he and his wife Penny moved to Lake Keowee, SC, and enjoyed 23 years of lake life.

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ALUMNI MUTSUKO (MUTS) OKADA (P ’66, ‘67, ‘72, ‘76, ‘77, GP ’01, ‘03, ‘06) passed away on June 14, 2024 at the age of 98.

She was the beloved mother of Leslie ‘66, Jerrie ‘67, Peter ‘72, Mark ‘76 and Andy ’77 and caring grandmother of 11 grandchildren including Stephen ‘01, Remy ‘03, and Luke ‘06, and an avid supporter of ASIJ. She is survived by her five children, daughter-in-law Hideko ’72, 11 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren. An avid supporter of ASIJ, Muts was also a third degree black belt holder in Aikido, and taught seniors how to live active lives by using their “Ki.” She will truly be missed by many.

TERRY PARSONS ‘65 passed away on June 2, 2023, in his home in Pittsboro, NC. He is survived by his husband Richard Chase and his twin brother, Berry Ed Parsons ’65. He graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis on interior design. He was an accomplished designer for cultural centers and the US embassies around the world. After retiring from the US State Department, he opened his own design company. He was a witty man who greatly enjoyed the arts.

JOHN RONCA (FF ’63–65) passed away on July 19, 2024 at 101 years of age. John had a very full life. He served in the US Marine Corps during WWII, attended Yale University, worked for Western Electric and General Electric and later changed careers to become a math teacher. His career as a math teacher took him all over the world — including North Carolina, Japan (to ASIJ), and Ecuador. A dedicated teacher, many students stayed in touch with him until his passing. He was a loyal Red Sox fan and golf enthusiast, proud of his 5 handicap at the Yale Golf Course.

RUI SASAKI ’95 of Honolulu, HI, passed away on February 17, 2024. During her time at ASIJ, she served as the sports team manager for football and men’s basketball.

After graduation, she went on to study at Skidmore College and Tufts University. She is missed by many friends and family.

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Obituaries DIANE MARIE (HAMPTON) SCHOLZ ’54 passed away at 88 on January 26, 2024, in Williamsburg, VA. She is survived by her loving husband of 66 years, John Scholz, three daughters, seven grandchildren, and her loving sister. Diane traveled the world with her parents and husband who served as army officers. She loved to crochet and knit and played tennis and golf.

ANNA SHAY ’79 passed away at 62 years old in June 2023. A star of Netflix’s reality television show Bling Empire, she was known for her wit, charms, and generosity With great ambition, Anna learned Spanish to manage a Cuban Salsa band, renovated her own estate, learned to pilot a helicopter, served as a board member for the George Lopez Foundation, and gave back to her community and those around her. Anna was seen as one to look up to and made a great impact on the ones around her. She is survived by her son, Kenny Kemp.

MARTHA SHIBATA ’66 passed away May 28, 2024, after a long illness. Martha was a dedicated foodie and one of the original four chocolatiers of Chocolate By The Bay. She was a humble, caring friend and regularly kept up with her Tai Chi practice. Martha, her five brothers George ‘65, Paul ‘69, Tim ‘72, Mark ‘73, John ‘83, and sister Mary ‘68 all attended ASIJ.

GEORGE SHIMIZU ’39 passed away on May 4, 2024. After graduating from ASIJ, he graduated from Dartmouth College and then joined the US Army, serving in Australia and the Philippines with the Military Intelligence Service. George was a special person with an amazing memory, interested in everything other people had to say. He is predeceased by his beloved wife, Mary. George lived a full and adventurous life, was an excellent storyteller and will be remembered for his wit, generosity, and kindness.

ALUMNI HELGE STAVONHAGEN ’58 of Dessau, Germany, passed away on March 27, 2024.

Helge and his family moved to Tokyo in 1952, where he and his brother, Uve Stavonhagen ’58, briefly attended the German school, and later ASIJ. After graduation, Helge attended Sophia University, but returned to Germany before graduating. He began a long career with the airline company, Lufthansa, which brought him back to Tokyo, where he met his wife, Mary Ma ’61.

Helge along with Mary lived around the world, including New Delhi, Osaka, London, Khartoum, and finally Beijing. After 60 years with Lufthansa, Helge retired as CEO China and settled down in Berlin. Helge is survived by his wife, Mary, their three sons and six grandchildren.

Obituaries TOMOSHIGE "WILL " REED YOSHII '03 passed away on September 22, 2024. He is survived by his loving mother and former ASIJ staff Kirby Yoshii FS '01–18 P'01, '03, '05 and his two brothers Yasu '01 and Shige '05.

REMY JOSEPH ZABEL ’72 passed away on October 20, 2023. Remy served as the editor of Daruma in her senior year, and was known fondly as the “Daruma boss.” She is missed by her sister Maria Joseph ’75, and her husband and two sons.

MARCIA TROPP ’68 passed away on November 5, 2023.

She is survived by her siblings, Dale Tropp-Weprin ’61 and Bobbie Tropp ’63, and her brother in law, Stephan Hoeller.

MARGIE (MARJORIE) VANVLEET (INGRAM) (FS ’84–86) passed away on September 27, 2024. Margie’s vast accomplishments include starting hospice services in the Southern Tier, teaching at Elmira College, educating with the Choice Theory Institute, and serving as a school counselor at many institutions including ASIJ. She enjoyed traveling and making friends. She is survived by her three children, Bill ’87, Tracy ’91, and David ’95. She wholly embraced her values of love, compassion, mercy, humility, peace, and righteousness.

NANCY WILSON ’65 of Tokyo, Japan, passed away on January 20, 2024. Born in Port Hueneme, CA, Nancy and her family moved to Japan in 1951 due to her father's deployment. In 1953, they departed Japan and Nancy continued her primary and secondary schooling in both the United States and Brazil, then going on to receive her associates degree from Colby Jr College. After college, Nancy served as a secretary in the Economics Department at Harvard University. She then returned to Japan in 1970, serving as a secretary at HQ, U.S. Forces, IBM World Trade Asia, Amoco Chemicals Far East and Rohm and Haas Asia until 1985. She volunteered with scholarship and lecture series programs with the College Women’s Association of Japan and was Treasurer, Secretary and Publicity Chairman of the Yokohama International Women’s Club. Nancy is survived by her husband, Charles.

JANICE WRIGHT (FF ’73–74, P ’79, ’84) passed away on December 22, 2023. She was 86 years old. Janice taught elementary school music, alongside her husband, John (FF ’72–74, P ’79, ‘84), who served as the ES Band Director. She is predeceased John and survived by her children Rhonda ’79 and Laura ’84.

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Artifact

ASIJ’s first Holiday Happening took place in December 1975 and began a tradition that has now reached its half century. While the name of the event change to Winterfest in 2007, many things have remained the same over the years. Santa Claus still makes an appearance — although he no longer arrives by helicopter — American candy is still a favorite booth, and everyone still loves the international food area. This issue of the Hanabi student newspaper, shown above, noted that in addition to Santa, the guest of honor was US Ambassador James D Hodgson.

They also reported that Nathan Jastram ‘76 and Kenji Hoffman ‘76 held a sale of their handmade pottery and the Tropical Fish Club sold homemade yakitori.

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