Vol. 153, No. 6, September 16, 2011. 16 pages. View this issue
Young Asian Americans were the subject of this 16-page issue. The cover took up Asian Americans and the DREAM Act, and Nalea J. Ko reported on undocumented students like Scarlette Kim speaking out for the California DREAM Act, with advocates saying only a federal law can settle their futures. Most of the issue belonged to the 2011 National JACL Scholarship winners. Jason Chang announced 34 students receiving a total of $78,000, and essay excerpts from the freshman, undergraduate, graduate, law, creative and performing arts, and financial aid winners fill pages 6 through 15.
Also inside: Nalea J. Ko wrote about young people like Shin Fujiyama, who left conventional careers to do charitable work in Honduras, and about Carrie Ann Inaba, a judge on Dancing with the Stars, as the show’s 13th season approached. In the essays, winners wrote about the World War II incarceration, Little Tokyo, and relief for Japan after the 2011 earthquake.
What’s in this issue
JACL
- 2011 National JACL Scholarship Winners Announced, by Jason Chang, page 2. The national JACL announced this year’s scholarship winners, a group of 34 students receiving a total of $78,000 across freshman, graduate, undergraduate, law, creative & performing arts and financial aid categories. The program relied on volunteer selection committees from the Portland and Salt Lake City chapters who reviewed hundreds of applications submitted throughout the year.
- Freshman Winners: 2011 National JACL Scholarship Essays, page 6. This section presents essay excerpts from freshman category winners of the 2011 National JACL Scholarship, including Christopher R.R. Hyde, Gregory K. Hori, Melissa K. Gjerde, Nina L. Coomes, and Karisa K. Yamamoto. Each student reflects on how the increasingly privileged Japanese American community can better educate and engage with broader social issues.
- Freshman Winners Continued: Nicole Sakioka, Bryan Namba, Kelsey Kwong, Noelle Fa-Kaji, Aliya Kochiyama, page 7. Additional freshman scholarship winner essays discuss topics ranging from ethnocentrism and global understanding to community service, JACL history, and civil rights advocacy. Winners include Nicole A. Sakioka, Bryan Namba, Kelsey M. Kwong, Noelle Fa-Kaji, and Aliya M. Kochiyama, each addressing how to engage youth in relevant community issues.
- Danielle Kihara and Additional Freshman Scholarship Winners, page 8. Danielle Kihara, who graduated summa cum laude from James Logan High School, and other freshman winners discuss the need to preserve JA community history and traditions for younger generations. The essays emphasize the importance of teaching youth about community struggles and encouraging collaboration between different JA youth groups.
- Undergrad Winners: Mariko Newton and Nicole Horiuchi Gaddie, page 8. Undergraduate scholarship winners Mariko J. Newton and Nicole Horiuchi Gaddie describe their involvement in JACL leadership programs and advocacy work, including attending the JACL/OCA Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. Their essays connect the WWII incarceration experience to present-day social justice and civil rights issues.
- Undergrad Winners: Molly Serizawa and John Kanemoto, page 9. Molly M. Serizawa and John William Kanemoto share their essays on community engagement and career aspirations, including Serizawa’s work with JACL PSW’s summer program and Kanemoto’s path toward becoming a math teacher. Both discuss how they plan to give back to the JA community that supported their education.
- Undergrad Winners: Jonathan Lee and Monica Matsumoto, page 10. Jonathan P. Lee and Monica M. Matsumoto’s scholarship essays address the responsibility of privileged JA youth to help others and the importance of international understanding, drawing on Matsumoto’s year studying in Egypt. Both emphasize education and awareness as tools for social change.
- Undergrad Winners: Kristin Sakaguchi, page 10. Kristin Y. Sakaguchi’s essay discusses using social media and technology to engage youth in community issues, citing her experience mobilizing support for Little Tokyo through an online petition. She argues that digital outreach is key to involving younger generations in JACL’s mission.
- Undergrad Winners: Naomi Schurr, Briana Hamamoto, Alexandra Wong, page 11. Naomi D. Schurr, Briana D. Hamamoto, and Alexandra Wong share personal essays about family history, the WWII incarceration, and their aspirations to serve their communities through education and medicine. Schurr recounts researching Sadao Munemori for a History Day project, while Hamamoto discusses her mother’s battle with cancer shaping her career goals.
- Graduate Award Winners: Allison Fujii and Jamie Kuratomi, page 12. Graduate scholarship winners Allison M. Fujii and Jamie S. Kuratomi discuss their commitment to social justice and community service, with Fujii pursuing a career in higher education counseling inspired by her grandparents’ incarceration experience. Kuratomi highlights her volunteer work at dental clinics and Buddhist community service rooted in her faith.
- Graduate Award Winners: Dana Nakano, Hena John-Fisk, Kelly McCormick, page 13. Graduate winners Dana Y. Nakano, Hena John-Fisk, and Kelly M. McCormick reflect on sociological research into JA identity, ways to break down barriers between JA and other minority communities, and transnational research on postwar Japanese political activism. Their essays explore complex questions about racialization, coalition-building and historical memory.
- Graduate Award Winner: Glenda Izumi, page 13. Glenda Izumi’s scholarship essay argues that JA communities must connect their experiences to broader patterns of racial discrimination facing other minority groups. She emphasizes that JACL must remain a voice for all Asian Americans and ethnic minorities, warning against complacency.
- Graduate Award Winner: Alexandra Margolin, page 14. Alexandra E. Margolin describes her leadership in the Asian American Sponsor Program at Pitzer College, which helped incoming students transition to college while preserving collective community history. She reflects on the power of oral history and storytelling in sustaining AA community identity.
- Law Award Winners: Shirley Tang and Edward Yoshida, page 14. Law scholarship recipients Shirley Tang and Edward T. Yoshida discuss the importance of connecting JA history to present-day issues of discrimination and their volunteer work with organizations like JANM. Both emphasize education as a tool to fight ongoing injustices facing Asian Americans and other communities.
- Law Award Winner: Lisa Okamoto, page 15. Lisa K. Okamoto, winner of the Sho Sato Memorial Scholarship, describes her work as a case manager at the Little Tokyo Service Center helping immigrant families and elderly clients. Her experiences with vulnerable community members inspired her commitment to a career of service, including pursuing law school.
- Creative Arts and Performing Arts Award Winners: Sarah Matsumoto and Dara Oda, page 15. Creative Arts winner Sarah Matsumoto discusses using art education to engage students with the immigrant experience, while Performing Arts winner Dara Oda calls for the JA community to organize fundraisers and support Japan following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Both emphasize community involvement through creative expression.
- Financial Aid Award Winner: Kimiko Ichikawa, page 15. Kimiko Ichikawa, recipient of the Abe and Esther Hagiwara Student Aid Scholarship, reflects on JA community unity following the 2011 Japan earthquake and her own journey immigrating to the U.S. in 2006. She discusses her passion for bilingual studies and cross-cultural community building.
Arts & Entertainment
- Judge Carrie Ann Inaba Gears Up For ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Premiere, by Nalea J. Ko, page 3. Carrie Ann Inaba, judge on ABC’s ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ discusses her approach to giving honest feedback to contestants ahead of the show’s 13th season premiere featuring celebrities like Chaz Bono and Ron Artest. Inaba also reflects on growing up in Hawaii, being Asian American in Hollywood, and her future plans to produce television.
National
- AA Undocumented Students Call for Passage of Calif. DREAM Act Part II, by Nalea J. Ko, page 4. Undocumented Asian American students like Scarlette Kim are speaking publicly in support of the California DREAM Act, part of which was signed into law, while advocates say only a federal DREAM Act can truly resolve their uncertain futures. Journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, who revealed his own undocumented status, founded Define America to spark conversation about immigration reform.
Community
- Asian American Youth Find Unconventional Jobs, Doing Good, by Nalea J. Ko, page 5. Young Asian Americans like Shin Fujiyama, founder of Students Helping Honduras, are forgoing conventional careers to pursue philanthropic work, building schools and villages in Honduras after raising over $1 million. Other young people, including the founders of the Jubilee Project and Project Red Balloon, are similarly dedicating themselves to nonprofit and charitable ventures inspired by a desire to make real change.
Obituaries
- Aiko Hamashima Nakawatase, page 15. Aiko Hamashima Nakawatase, born May 22, 1917, died Aug. 8, 2011, and was preceded in death by her daughter and several sisters. She is survived by her son, daughter, brothers, and multiple grandchildren across Philadelphia, PA and Bridgeton, NJ.
Thank you for exploring the Pacific Citizen archive. The title, introduction and contents on this page were written by an AI model from scans of the printed issue, so they may contain mistakes. If you spot one, we would be grateful if you let us know.