student Joseph Iseri is one of only three United States award recipients of the 2019–20 from the Japanese government¡¯s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The Monbukagakusho Scholarship covers tuition and living expenses, and provides a stipend.
Iseri is a Japanese language major in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures and a graduate of Kamehameha Schools Kap¨¡lama. At Kamehameha, Iseri developed an intense passion for Japanese language and culture, something that according to him was unfortunately lost in his lineage despite being the descendant of a Nikkei family.
He will study Japanese language and culture at in Kyoto through August 2020.
“The scholarship will help me pursue my career goal of becoming a Japanese language teacher in Â鶹´«Ã½ nei. Ever since I was in elementary school, I knew I wanted to be a teacher,” said Iseri. “This scholarship enables me to study Japanese language and culture authentically, intensively and personally ensuring that my future teaching will be as beneficial to students as possible. I truly hope to develop my abilities through dedication to my studies at Doshisha.”
Deputy Consul General Shinichi Yamanaka presented the award to Iseri at a ceremony on August 30.