In 2009, Dr. Yasuyuki Horie and his wife Donna endowed the Horie Takematsu and Koh Scholarship at ICU to recognize top students in the natural sciences. Dr. Horie graduated from ICU in 1961 with a Bachelor of Science degree in physics and subsequently received his MS in applied science from Yale and a PhD in physics from Washington State University. A successful career as a scientist brought him to universities and laboratories on three continents, before retiring in Santa Fe, New Mexico.. By endowing a scholarship fund, Dr. & Mrs. Horie are able to provide opportunities for ICU students far into the future. According to Dr. Horie, “The scholarship is a way to say thank-you to my parents and ICU for the opportunities they have given me.”

Last month, the I had the opportunity to interview three Horie Scholarship recipients at ICU. Please scroll down  to read more about the following students’ experiences at ICU and their future plans.

Jose Carlos Guerrero Mauricio, 2014-15 Horie Scholarship Recipient

Hiroyuki Endo, 2014-15 Horie Scholarship Recipient

Yuki Tsutsui, 2015-16 Horie Scholarship Recipient

INTERVIEW WITH JOSE CARLOS GUERRERO MAURICIO

JICUF: Thank you for agreeing to this interview. I noticed you have an interesting name, Jose Carlos Guerrero Mauricio.

Carlos: Thank you for interviewing me. Please just call me Carlos. My name is Peruvian. I grew up in Japan, but I was born in Peru.

JICUF: I will, thank you. Since you mentioned you were born in Peru, would you please tell me a little more about your background?

Carlos: My mother is one-quarter Japanese and three-quarters Peruvian. My father is 100% Peruvian. I was born in Peru and when I was three months old I came with my parents to live in Japan.

My parents live in Atami and that is where I grew up. I eventually went to high school in Mishima, also in Shizuoka Prefecture. I spent three years there. I didn’t go to Junior high for one and a half years because of trouble with friends so that made it difficult to find a high school to attend. At the time, I wasn’t happy with where I went to high school, but now I think it was a good choice for me.

JICUF: Thank you for sharing. Please tell me your major and how you decided to attend ICU.

Carlos: Originally, I picked global studies as my major, but then I thought about how ICU has a unique environment in Japan where a student can double major in both humanities and science.  I decided to double major in global studies and computer science.

I chose computer science because I believe knowledge about information technology will be important for the future. I also know that I have a tendency to avoid studying topics I am not good at so I chose computer science so that I could become better at math. Math is the basis of computer science and by embracing my own struggles with math and computer science I better understand what is going on in the information technology business environment.

I chose ICU because the university cover many areas of studies. I like to study and I got good scores on my exams in high school. I also like reading books, studying new things and discussing different topics. I wanted to go somewhere to train and develop these skills more.

I had two options. The choice was between a national university in Tokyo for free or go to ICU and pay tuition. I chose ICU because I think it is the best place to develop these skills and I also wanted to study in a liberal arts environment. I can learn about many different topics here and the professors are so energetic in their teaching and thoughts.

JICUF: That is great to hear. Have you participated in any student clubs or activities?

Carlos: I am part of the Spanish speaking society. I speak Japanese and Spanish fluently and can also read Korean. Actually, I know Reiko Nakagawa. She studied abroad at Rutgers, was a JICUF intern and is in Chile now, right?

JICUF: Yes! We know Reiko very well. Are you involved in any other extracurriculars?

Carlos: Outside of the university I weight lift and I also participate in a youth focused NPO called Plan International Japan.  We support community development and I participate as a ‘decision maker’. Plan International empowers younger adults to be ‘decision makers’ in their communities. The rest of my time is focused on my senior thesis.

JICUF: What is your senior thesis topic?

Carlos: My thesis is on the Spanish-speaking immigrants’ identity and relationship with communication in Japan. My theory is that communication is influenced by one’s identity.

I did an online survey and conducted face to face interviews for research. I gained access to the Spanish-speaking community through the church. I noticed that Latin American immigrants do not live together in groups like other immigrant communities in Japan. The only place where I could find a large group of Spanish-speaking people was in a Catholic church.

JICUF: Very interesting! I understand you are graduating ICU this March 2016. Please tell me about your plans for the future.

Carlos: My next step after graduation is to work at Google’s Tokyo office. I will be working in customer service at Google Tokyo. I am interested in information technologies (IT) and computer science, but I am not good at coding and programming. I can explain it to others though. It is similar to other languages. Some can read, but not write – that is how I am with coding. I plan to work in the IT field for a while and pay off my school loan. After that, I would like to go to graduate school.

JICUF: Thank you for sharing. Is there anything you would like to say to Dr. Horie or future ICU students?

Carlos: I want to say thank you to those people who support students who have financial difficulties. In my case, I would not have been able to graduate without their support.

As for advice to new students, I am mostly satisfied with my 4 years here at ICU, but I also feel like there were many things I still wish to do. It is easy to forget how quickly 4 years will go by. I encourage students to enjoy as much of their student life as possible and to take advantage of all the opportunities available.

JICUF: Thank you again for your time and for sharing so much about yourself. I am sure the ICU community will enjoy hearing your story!

INTERVIEW WITH HIROYUKI ENDO

JICUF: Thank you for agreeing to this interview. Please tell me about your experience at ICU.

Hiroyuki: I am a senior at ICU now and will graduate this March 2016. I double majored in physics and mathematics. My senior thesis is on the Langevin Equation. I am also part of the ICU Orchestra Club and my hobby is learning about different types of religion.

JICUF: Very interesting! I would like to hear more about all of that. Let’s start with a bit more on your majors. How did you get interested in math and physics?

Hiroyuki: Actually, in junior high school I did not like math at all. I thought it was very difficult. But then I started to like it because it was so difficult. I felt so good when I solved a difficult problem!

In high school I was very focused on math, but I didn’t like physics so much. After I entered ICU I had an opportunity to sit in on a small talk on mathematical physics and found that I really enjoyed learning about mathematical methodology of Physics.

My primary interest now is in the Langevin Equation which I have chosen as the focus for my senior thesis. This equation describes a physical phenomenon in nature. Since most undergraduate students can not do  original research, I am working on mastering and understanding the theory of this equation. In graduate school I would like to expand upon it.

JICUF: It sounds like you enjoy challenging yourself. That is a trait that will serve you well. Please tell me more about your involvement in the ICU Orchestra Club.

Hiroyuki: I play the cello in Orchestra Club. I started playing cello when I joined ICU. I have always been interested in music though. Before university, I played the piano and a few other instruments. I decided I wanted to play in the orchestra when I joined ICU because I really wanted to learn how to play music by Mozart and Beethoven.

JICUF: That’s wonderful! I enjoy playing their music too. What was your experience like in the club?

Hiroyuki: The ICU Orchestra Club is not big because the university itself is not so big. I think this ‘smallness’ is a good characteristic because it allows beginners like myself to play a big role. I have played important parts and been allowed to manage things because the club is so small.

JICUF: That is great that you are getting so much experience. You mentioned you were also interested in religion as a hobby. Please tell me more.

Hiroyuki: I am not a Christian, but at the end of my sophomore year I started attending Bible study group. I became interested in the Bible because I am attending International Christian University. I did not know anything about the Bible when I started ICU. I am interested in other religions in an academic sense too, but I think ICU is a good place for me to study Christianity.

JICUF: I understand. If you don’t mind my asking, do you personally identify with any religions?

Hiroyuki: Personally, I am not so religious though my family follows Buddhism in a cultural and traditional sense. I think I am interested in Christianity primarily because it seems like a different culture. In high school, I had the opportunity to listen to lectures from different religious scholars. I have always been curious as to why people believe in religion at all. At ICU I have many opportunities to talk with Christian people, but I haven’t yet found an answer as to why a person believes.

JICUF: It is wonderful that you approach so many things with an open mind and intellectual curiosity. Please tell me about your plans after graduating ICU.

Hiroyuki: I will go to the University of Tokyo graduate school to continue studying physics after graduating from ICU this March. I will begin at this new school in April.

JICUF: No break at all. You are very hardworking. What do you hope to do with your graduate degree from University of Tokyo?

Hiroyuki: I have not yet decided what I will do in the future. Besides physics, I am also interested in computer science and economics. It seems to me that physics can be applied to many different areas. Maybe in the future, if I don’t become a researcher, I can do something interesting connecting these different disciplines.

JICUF: I am sure you will do something interesting no matter what you choose. Thank you for your time and for sharing so much with the ICU community! We wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

INTERVIEW WITH YUKI TSUTSUI

JICUF: Thank you for agreeing to this interview, Yuki! Please tell me a little about your background.

Yuki: Thank you for interviewing me! I come from Okayama Prefecture and my family is now based in Chiba. My major is mathematics and I am in my 3rd years at ICU. I will graduate in March 2017.

JICUF: Please tell me one of your favorite things about ICU and how you chose to come here.

Yuki: My most favorite spot on the ICU campus is the library. It is very useful. There are many math books and, if they do not have what I want, they will get it for me quickly.

I chose to come to ICU because my English is not very good. I wanted to build up my English speaking abilities and make friends who can help me practice. ICU is a great place to make these English speaking friends.

JICUF: That is wonderful. Have you ever had a chance to practice your English abroad?

Yuki: Unfortunately, I have never left Japan. I would like to go abroad soon though.

JICUF: I am sure you will. Please tell me about how you became interested in math as a major.

Yuki: When I was a junior high school student I developed an interest in physics. I was reading Newton Magazine and this magazine showed the wonderful world of physics. It also explained how mathematics is needed to compose the world of physics.

My senior thesis is on tropical geometry. Tropical geometry is based on tropical algebra, where the sum of two numbers is their minimum and the product is their sum.

JICUF: Interesting. What are your future plans?

Yuki: I want to go to graduate school to become a researcher of mathematics. I want to check certain conjectures and solve them. I plan to go to a university in Japan because my interest in superstring theory is a strong field of study here.

JICUF: That sounds like a great plan! I wish you all the best of luck and hope you will stay in touch and come visit us if you visit New York.

A special thank you again to Dr. Yasuyuki and Mrs. Donna Horie for their invaluable support!