65th Anniversary Special
The Internationalist Spring 2015
Class of 1984
Robert Sharp “I learned to view people based on their own merits rather than on a national or ethnic stereotype.”
Age: 45 Country of Residence: United States Education: B.A., Asian History Occupation: That’s a complicated question. I’m involved in four companies, all of which include several of my siblings and a good friend from ASIJ. Company: Digieffects, Toolfarm, LifeFlix, Red Giant
The most important things I learned at Nishimachi: to view people based on their own merits rather than on a national or ethnic stereotype. I also learned to be comfortable with new people and new situations at an unusually early age. Most enduring memory of Nishimachi: March 1982. St. Mary’s Invitational Tournament. I was in seventh grade watching the eighth and ninth grade JV-A team play Ebara-dai-yon in the semifinals. Ebara had soundly beaten the JV-A team earlier in the season. We were down by one point with three seconds to go, and we had the ball. The ball was inbounded at midcourt to John Reineck, who powered in from the left side for an uncontested lay-up to win the game. I will never forget that moment! It made me feel that anything was achievable with enough will power and faith. The teacher who had the greatest impact on the person I am today: Mr. Green. He always believed in me. The most exciting thing about my life today is my children. It’s fascinating seeing them grow up in this age of rapid technological
innovation. Thankfully, there wasn’t any social media when I was a kid!
The best part of my job is working with family, and with friends I’ve known since growing up in Japan, and traveling to Japan frequently for work. The thing that concerns me most about the world today: There seems to be a trend towards extremism. In the United States, politics and the media are increasingly forcing people to identify with one extreme or the other, when, in fact, most people actually share the same moderate, centrist values. When I’m not at work, you’ll most likely find me with my kids. If I were to write an autobiography, the book’s title would be: The Path of Most Resistance. The most important things in my life today are my children and my businesses. If I could give one piece of advice to my 15-yearold self, it would be: Learn to write code.
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