The greater Portland area held its 78th Annual Japanese American Graduation banquet to recognize the achievements of 35 local high school seniors on May 4 at the Riverside Golf and Country Club.
With 215 people in attendance to celebrate and congratulate the students in the class of 2025, $35,000 in scholarships were awarded to the outstanding students to help start their college careers. The annual banquet is sponsored by Portland JACL, Gresham-Troutdale JACL, the Buddhist Henjyoji Temple, Epworth United Methodist Church, the Japanese Ancestral Society of Portland, the Nikkei Fujinkai, the Nichiren Buddhist Temple, the Oregon Nisei Veterans, the Oregon Buddhist Temple, the Veleda Women’s Group and Shokookai of Portland.
In addition to the scholarships, each student received the book “Facing the Mountain, a True Story of Japanese American Heroes in World War II” by Daniel James Brown, donated by the Oregon Nisei Veterans.
