Improving infrastructure for daily life,
Get a job that leads to a convenient and prosperous life
4th year, Department of Global Studies and Collaboration
OVERTURE
Our university provides consistent career and employment support from early 1st and 2nd years through to the job-hunting period in 3rd and 4th years. We support students to understand the meaning of work and to make concrete preparations and actions to build a career that suits them.
We would like to introduce a student who has progressed over four years and secured a job offer from JFE Shoji Corporation.
What was the event that prompted you to visualize your future?
When I studied abroad in Thailand in my second year, I witnessed the poor living conditions there and wanted to be involved in improving them to make people's lives more convenient and prosperous. To achieve this, I realized the need to provide products and services that meet 100% the local needs, and I applied to a trading company because I thought I could realize my dream.
I think it will have a big impact on the way I live my life in the future.
What would be a topic from your university life?
During my time abroad, I joined a baseball team formed by Japanese expatriates, but arranging a field and equipment and even practicing was a struggle. I was astonished at the difference in environment from Japan, where playing baseball is a given. Also, by spending time with working adults, I was inspired by not only the manners required of working adults, but also the way people in various professions took their work seriously and achieved results, without being self-conscious about the fact that they were overseas. These experiences broadened my horizons and allowed me to choose my career path from among the many options available.
How do you feel you have grown through your time at university?
"Thinking and acting on your own." How can I study abroad at my desired destination? Can I understand the content of classes at a local university? Can I play baseball in Thailand? How can I improve my skills and make my team stronger when there is no coach for my club activities? I think I was always able to think and act on my own. Even during my job hunting, thinking about what I needed to get into the industry and occupation I wanted and acting on it allowed me to find a job that I was satisfied with.
What you think is necessary to achieve your goals,
What are your dreams and aspirations for the future?
I think it's important to have your own core. My core was "trust." I believe it's necessary to connect people and change living conditions. I want to help create a society where people are connected by trust across borders. In the future, I hope to be involved in a business that can enrich people's lives, not just in developing countries.
*Faculty and year are as of the time of the interview in 2019.
My growth steps
In my first year, I aimed to study abroad at Thammasat University (Thailand) as an undergraduate student, so I worked hard to study English and get a high GPA. I also joined the semi-hardball baseball club and devoted myself to baseball every day.
In my second year, I went to Thailand for an undergraduate study abroad program. I studied business with local students in English lectures, and then I actually started a business, manufacturing and selling hats I designed for students, which made a profit. I happened to meet someone who had helped me out in China in junior high school, and we were on the same baseball team! I felt a strong connection with people through baseball.
After returning to Japan in his third year, he returned to club activities. In the final league match, he won the Tohto League Division 2 for the first time in about 12 years and was promoted to Division 1. Since the organization was managed solely by students, he began to think about the whole team, not just in practice and in games.
Currently in his fourth year, he is researching for his graduation thesis what Japanese companies can do to help solve social issues in developing countries, which he experienced firsthand while living in Thailand. While he enjoys his hobbies of mountain climbing, camping, and long-term overseas trips, he is also studying bookkeeping and TOEIC® in preparation for work, and reading business books.
