ICU student Mariko Kawasaki was awarded the Study Abroad Scholarship in December 2020 along with two other students. This scholarship was established in 2012 with support from the ICU Alumni Association in the Americas and direct donations from individuals to encourage more ICU students to study abroad. JICUF now awards three students with $3,500 in support of their study abroad experience.

We are happy to report that Mariko successfully completed her study abroad program this summer at the University of California, Davis campus! Mariko is a fourth year student, majoring in psychology with a minor in gender & sexuality studies. Mariko has submitted a report on her time at UC Davis, which you can read here. We sat down with Mariko to go a little more in-depth about her experience.

JICUF: Can you tell us a little bit about your studies, and your motivation to pursue your selected field?

Mariko Kawasaki (MK): Since I was young, I was very interested in observing people and wondering what they were thinking. Through high school, I struggled with my gender identity and began counseling. A lot of my life had some connection to psychology and mental health, which led me to an interest in psychology. When I started university at ICU, I began taking psychology courses and some of the courses really “clicked” for me.

I wasn’t sure what I was specifically interested in, but I felt that the psychology courses at ICU were limited. While researching universities abroad to attend, I saw that UC Davis had a good psychology program with many focused courses and it caught my eye.

JICUF: You mentioned in your report that your personal life with friends and dormmates was a major part of your experience. Could you talk a little bit about making connections in an international environment?

MK: My suite-mates were from America, Korea, and India. As we spent more time living together, we began to acknowledge our differing priorities and habits regarding cleaning and how we treat shared spaces. We had small meetings from time to time trying to understand each other’s lifestyles, and over time we came to a realization that we don’t have to prioritize one person over the others. They were nice to me and invited me out to things, which gave me an opportunity to meet new people and talk to them.

JICUF: After your experience, do you see Japanese society any differently? Is there anything you would like to see changed in Japan to make it more inclusive?

MK: The first step to making Japan more inclusive could begin at ICU and other educational institutions. In things like questionnaires and surveys, I always take note of checking the “gender” box and I really question if it is still necessary. What is the point of asking this person’s gender, if the topic isn’t specifically related to it?

In addition to that, I feel that most Japanese people still don’t fully understand LGBT topics or the community. They may know words like “gay”, but there is still a negative perception. A friend and I now make content on Instagram to educate people on LGBT-specific vocabulary and tell stories about how LGBT people really feel. It’s a long journey, but I think having that educational base will help people understand. Perhaps not within my generation, but I think it is important to teach younger children that being different is not bad, so that they can have a better understanding of the topic.

We focus on beginner topics like “What is gender identity? What can you do if somebody comes out to you?”. We try to reach out to people who are not part of the LGBT community. In Japan there is still very little reliable information available which leads to incorrect assumptions. Since I used to live in Taiwan and Shanghai, and since I learned English at a young age, I had lots of access to non-Japanese materials which were very different from Japanese sources. I feel it is important to have clear and accurate information in Japan for people to educate themselves.

We would like to congratulate Mariko on her study abroad experience, and wish her the best after her graduation from ICU!