Meet Ryosuke Kawamura, a Japanese exchange student from Kyushu University studying at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. During his time in the United States, he met Andrea Sugano, JASC board member. Read Ryosuke’s reflection on his experience and the impact JASC has had on his year in the U.S.

My Experience with JASC

Ryosuke Kawamura

I spent one year studying at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as an exchange student from Kyushu University. During my time in the United States, I met Andrea at the USJC Annual Conference, and she introduced me to the Japanese American Service Committee (JASC).

Throughout most of my exchange year, I lived in Champaign, Illinois. I learned a great deal through my university courses and interactions with other students, but visiting JASC gave me a valuable opportunity to connect with the broader local community and with people living in Chicago.

Chicago was an unfamiliar city where I knew very few people, so I felt somewhat nervous when I first visited. However, everyone I met through JASC welcomed me with great warmth. They naturally included me in their conversations and spoke to me in such a friendly way that my nervousness quickly disappeared. I was able to relax and feel at ease. What stayed with me most was the feeling that I had not simply visited an organization, but had found a place in Chicago where I was genuinely welcomed and accepted.

In Champaign, most of my interactions were with fellow university students. Through JASC, however, I had the opportunity to meet people who lived in the Chicago area and who came from different generations and a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. This was a new and meaningful experience for me. My connection with JASC allowed my exchange experience to extend beyond the university campus and made my year in Illinois broader, richer, and more fulfilling.

During my visit to JASC, I was also able to view a variety of historical materials related to the experiences of Japanese Americans. I learned that JASC is currently making significant efforts to digitize these materials so that they can be preserved and made accessible to future generations. Some of the documents were connected to historical events that I had previously studied in school.

When I learned about these events through textbooks, I tended to view them mainly as historical knowledge and sometimes felt that they belonged to a distant past. Seeing the actual materials in person, however, helped me understand that these events were deeply connected to the real experiences of people who lived through them. The documents made history feel much more immediate, personal, and real to me. This experience also helped me appreciate the important role that JASC plays in preserving this history and sharing it with future generations and with people from different backgrounds.

My experience with JASC not only gave me a welcoming and reassuring place in an unfamiliar city, but also encouraged me to reflect on the importance of community, human connection, and the preservation and sharing of history. I am sincerely grateful to everyone who welcomed me so warmly. Even after returning to Japan, I hope to continue valuing the experiences and relationships I gained through JASC.