My name is Yuto Terada, and I humbly ask for your consideration for admission to the University of Tsukuba. I am applying to the University of Tsukuba School of International Social Studies because I want to take advantage of my life experience of living both in Japan and the United States to further my education in an environment that fosters creative thinking skills, reasoning, and diversity. I believe these skills are fundamental to allow me to perform well in all fields, from art and humanities to business and politics. Also, I am eager to learn about various cultures and how they have evolved over time and to study the aspects of human life. I want to expand my understanding of the human world through a broad interdisciplinary approach and to challenge myself to better prepare for the fast-changing, globalized world.
Born and raised in Japan, I’ve always admired the University of Tsukuba. It was one of my biggest dreams from a young age to attend the University of Tsukuba one day. I visited your campus last year and was amazed by not only the facility, and the staff, but the student-teacher interaction which I found quite fascinating. Part of living in Hawaii is attending school in a melting pot like environment. As a result, having hundreds of friends from a variety of different ethnicities gave me an opportunity to interact with everyone and understand their cultures.
My name is Yuto Terada, and I humbly ask for your consideration for admission to the University of Tsukuba. I am applying to the University of Tsukuba School of International Social Studies because I want to take advantage of my life experience of living both in Japan and the United States to further my education in an environment that fosters creative thinking skills, reasoning, and diversity. I believe these skills are fundamental to allow me to perform well in all fields, from art and humanities
In addition to exploring different philosophies and learning human science in depth, I can more readily attain my future goal which is to become an interpreter. Being bilingual has given me a head start for me; in addition, I believe that after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, there will be a greater number of foreigners living in Japan, which may result in higher demands of translators across the country. Additionally, having a background in human science would allow me to better provide global companies with translation services of various documents related to their service expansion to Japan. I feel that doing a translation is not always just translating words directly, but knowing various cultural expectations, and etiquette will also play a compelling role in effective communication between groups.
With the programs offered at the University of Tsukuba, I feel that my future will be ensured to be successful. I am glad to hear that service is an important consideration in attending the University of Tsukuba, as I take service very earnestly, because I understand that service is an important aspect of education as it is for personal growth. I know that my passion for service will follow me throughout my life and manifest itself in my actions at the University of Tsukuba, just like how I did in High School.
One thing that I am very proud of is my involvement with the United States Army’s Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) program at Mililani High School (MHS) where we participated in numerous service projects. As a freshman, I began with the rank of Private and moved my way up to the distinguished rank of a Captain. When I first joined JROTC, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but throughout these promotions, I became a mentally and physically stronger person, and I also learned the importance of leading by example.
There were times when I had to speak and give orders to 200 cadets and over time I learned that leadership is about communicating, doing the right things, and treating people with fairness and respect. Throughout my time in JROTC, I put in over 360 service project hours. The JROTC mission statement is “To motivate young people to be better citizens.” In my heart, I believe this statement means that students need to adopt the values of citizenship, leadership, service to the community, personal responsibility, and a reflection on accomplishment, which will develop in greater self-esteem, teamwork, and self-discipline.
Another extracurricular activity that I have also contributed to my growth is golf. I took up golf years ago and participated in junior golf tournaments for a few years. Golf is unique by being a sport where the players are responsible for assessing their own penalties, unlike other sports where players and coaches argue with officials regardless of whether they are truthful or not. In golf, if you commit a penalty and no one else witnessed the infraction, you are still responsible to call the penalty.
It is my position that this level of integrity should not only be for the golf course but is something that should be carried out daily by being mindful of my mistakes and take responsibility for my actions. Golf has taught me that there is always room for improvement. No matter what I am doing in life, I can always be better, always continue to work harder, and always grow to become the best version of myself possible. By playing this amazing sport, I learned how to not only respect myself but others and the golf course.
Because I went through my rigorous military training in JROTC and by participating in junior golf, I am more than confident that while I am attending the University of Tsukuba, I can be a positive contributor to the student body, the community, and most importantly, I will not be afraid to ask questions, not only to the professors but also to the staff and my peers. By communicating with a diverse group of people have helped me improve my speaking skills, listening skills, and provided me with experiences that I feel will be useful as I strive to become a language translator. I look forward to continuing to build skills such as leadership, self-confidence, and discipline – qualities that are necessary to thrive at the University of Tsukuba. Furthermore, I also look forward to participating in various service organizations such as the student government or even tutoring to assist other students.
After viewing my many options, I came to the conclusion that because of its growing cultural and ethnic diversity, the University of Tsukuba is a master at creating a niche for every student. In addition, it is the seamless interaction between reflective students with a sophisticated knowledge base that allows each department to create a real learning environment that profoundly mimics the real world. I am ready to take the next step, take charge of education, and accept any challenges that are given to me. Thus, the University of Tsukuba is not just the perfect place for me, it is the only place for me. If accepted, I will not disappoint anyone nor let anybody down and sincerely believe that I possess all the qualities required to succeed at the University of Tsukuba.
