2019年度国際コミュニケーション学部奨学生による報告です。
※ 後援：阪南大学後援会

2018- チアリーディング部
2018 TOEIC 600点以上
2018-9 上級英語コース
2020 ボランティア英語ガイド: 奈良市

In February, our seminar went to Nara for two days to be English tour guides for foreigner visitors. It was a good chance to meet people from around the world and also teach them about Japanese history and culture. The first day, we all met in the morning and went around Nara, Nara Park and visited shrines. We stayed over in Nara, and the second day, we met some foreign tourists and guided them to some popular spots including Todai-ji, and Nara Park. This was a fun experience to use English and meet people who are interested in Japan and Japanese culture. We took surveys to find out where the people are from, and also to find out if they have had any troubles during their visit to Japan.

I will continue in my studies of English and have been working on improving my TOEIC score. I have a goal to reach over 800 points on the TOEIC test. In the fall of 2020, I will go to Canada to study abroad and work in a hotel internship. This is a good chance to work and study in a foreign country and gain valuable experience. Those opportunities will help me with my future goals and improve my English skills.

2018- 阪南大学 English Debate Society
2019 日本英語模擬国連: 参加者
2019 阪南大学模擬国連: 議長
2020ボランティア英語ガイド: 奈良市

This year I attended the Japan English Model United Nations for the first time. I was the delegate of Botswana. I also worked hard at Hannan University to learn new things and to improve myself.

From November 15 to 17, 2019, we held the Hannan University Model United Nations at Hannan University. As a member of the English Debate Society, I worked in the spring, summer, and fall to plan and prepare for this big event. I was in charge of HUMUN’s budget, so I had to manage the money, and how it was spent. I was also the Chair in Meeting Room 4. Our room theme was Sustainable Development Goal #6: Clean Water and Sanitation. I had to learn the responsibilities of the MUN Room Chair, and also learn how to help the delegates have a great experience at HUMUN. It was a big challenge, and I was happy to work with everyone and learn a lot.

This seminar event was a volunteer English tour guide in Nara. I am not from the Kansai area, so I had to learn about popular sightseeing spots in Nara. After that, I guided foreign tourists who visited Nara in February. I could meet some people and use English in a natural way. It was a good learning experience and a chance to introduce Japanese history and culture to people who came to visit Japan. The event took place over two days in February.

In EDS, we do many activities and have meetings once a week, in the summer, and sometimes on weekends. Our big project for 2019 was the 3rd Hannan University Model United Nations. We wanted to get many people to join, so we planned as lot and recruited over 140 Hannan University students to join. We had the event on November 15, 16, and 17. I was a Room Chair for meeting Room 4. I also had to work for EDS to take care of the budget and collect HUMUN fees. I learned a lot and was happy that we had such a great event. I look forward to HUMUN 2020, and having more students join the event. In the spring, I will help give explanations and recruit freshmen to join EDS and HUMUN.

In 2020, I will keep on studying hard to improve my English skills and learn more leadership skills. I will take on greater responsibility for planning HUMUN 2020. I also will work on improving my TOEIC score so that I can have a great experience when I study abroad at an International Internship in Australia.

2019 ベトナムにインターンシップ
2019 阪南大学模擬国連: 参加者
2019 国際コミュニケーション学部 スピーチコンテスト 英語部門: 参加者

　今回奨学金を受け取ることができ私自身大きく成長させていただきました。この成長は奨学金なしではなかったと考えます。なぜこのように考えたのかというとそれは本来ならばアルバイトの時間を勉強の時間に充てることができたからです。この結果から大学3年間での中で最も充実した時間を過ごすことができました。ベトナムインターンシップ、ＳＡ，スピーチコンテスト,模擬国連など様々な事に挑戦することができました。
　その一つとして昨年の夏に一か月間ベトナムにインターンシップに参加させていただきました。経済的な面を考えると簡単にいくことができなかったのですが、奨学金を受給させていただいたおかげで参加することができ多くを学ぶことができました。参加した理由は二つあり、これからの日本を考えた時必ず外国人労働者が必要になってくると考え発展途上国のベトナムに一か月間インターンシップに行くことを決めました。もう一つは、私自身将来の目標として自分の会社を持つことを目標にしています。その中でも優秀なベトナム人を雇うことを視野に入れているのも参加した理由の一つでした。そして、私が就労体験したのは佐川急便ベトナム支社でした。当初私がベトナムに対して抱いていたイメージは、ほとんどが良いイメージを持ってはいましたが同時にまだまだこれからの国だとも思っていました。しかし、実際ベトナムに訪れるとまるで日本にいるかのような風景が広がっていました。80階の高層ビル、日本の居酒屋、高級ホテルなどがありました。しかし、これほどまでに発達しているにも関わらず路上にはストリートチルドレンがいたり物乞いしている人たちもいました。この時に貧富の差を感じさせられました。この時まだまだ知らない世界があるのだと再確認させられました。そして、仕事をベトナム人としていく中で文化の違いを学びました。それは、残業を一切しないということです。日本人の方々は21時ごろまで残っているとおっしゃっていましたが、ベトナム人の方々は17時になれば全員退社している現実に驚きました。しかしこれがベトナム人の当たり前でした。他にも物価の圧倒的に違うとこや日本人駐在員多さなど発見の毎日でした。一ヶ月という短い期間ではありましたが、私自身最も成長感じられた一ヶ月だったと思いました。
　簡単には体験することのできない体験を奨学金のおかげで体験させていただきました。
この体験は決して無駄な事ではなく将来につながる体験でした。ベトナムで仕事をしているとビジネスチャンスが転がっている国をますます知りたくなりました。そこで、出会った社会人の方々とお話しをさせていただいた時にも社会人と大学生の考え方の違いを痛いほど突き付けられました。自分の考えの甘さに何度も恥ずかしさも覚えました。このことから日本のインターンシップでは学ぶことのできない文化であったり考え方を学ぶことができました。このインターンシップに参加でき私の将来の視野を広げてくれたのは、この阪南大学の奨学金制度でした。

2017 阪南大学模擬国連: 参加者
2017 国際コミュニケーション学部 スピーチコンテスト 英語部門: 参加者
2017 Asia Community Engagementの学生会議 参加者
2018 日本英語模擬国連: 参加者
2018 留学 ゲルフ大学、カナダ
2019 日本英語模擬国連: 参加者
2019 阪南大学模擬国連: 議長
2019 国際コミュニケーション学部 スピーチコンテスト 英語部門: 参加者
2020 阪南大学 English Debate Society 部長

During my study abroad, I experienced many things. I studied hard, and in my free time, I traveled so I could use English and learn many things. The contents of the classes got more complicated, and grammar classes got more difficult. I could do some winter activities in my free time. My roommates were from Korea and Brazil. After my Korean roommate went back to Korea, my new roommate was from Brazil, and he also speaks English as a second language, so I think we could mutually enhance one another. I tried hard the rest of school life in Guelph, so that I could go back to Japan without any regrets. I hope these experiences will help me to find a job in the future.

In 2019 in International Communication, my goals included taking part in many English events and improving my English skills. I also wanted to improve my leadership skills, so I took challenges to take a more active role and worked with other students on some excellent teams. Some of my excellent teamwork experiences included being a member of the following teams:

In the summer and fall, I worked hard to help make the Hannan University Model United Nations an excellent academic event. I was chosen to be the Chair of Meeting Room 6, which is an all English room with high-level English speakers who need to find solutions to global problems. This work is done all in English. I had to think of way to make sure the meeting room activities flowed well and to make sure the delegates had clear goals. It was a challenging experience, but very valuable and helped me improve my leadership skills. I believe that these new perspectives will lead to a more productive workforce, and a happier society.

In the fall, while working to prepare for HUMUN 2019, I also took an individual challenge to participate in the International Communication Speech Contest.

In 2020, I became the leader of the English Debate Society at Hannan University. This English club has students from grades 1-4, and from different faculties. We have a good team and work hard to improve ourselves and enjoy school life. We are already thinking about how to have some great events in 2020 at Hannan University. In particular, we are planning the 4th Hannan University Model United Nations (HUMUN). We will all do our best.

2017 日本英語模擬国連: 参加者
2017 阪南大学模擬国連: 参加者
2017 国際コミュニケーション学部 スピーチコンテスト 英語部門: 最優秀賞
2017 Asia Community Engagementの学生会議: 参加者
2018 留学 フリンダース大学、オーストラリア
2018 阪南大学模擬国連: 議長
2018 国際コミュニケーション学部 スピーチコンテスト 英語部門: 第三位
2019 日本英語模擬国連: 議長 レゴ・シリアスプレイ ルーム
2019 阪南大学模擬国連: 議長
2019 卒業論文: “Living to work, or working to live?: Japanese work-life balance in the era of globalization”
2019 阪南大学 リバティウイング学習奨励賞 (Liberty Wing Award)

While working on graduation thesis research in the 4th year of university, I also took part in some important English events and was able to take on more responsibility as an upperclassman and a leader.

In particular, in the spring semester, I was a Chair at the Japan English Model United Nations and was proud to be on the Hannan University team; we won the best delegation award at this year’s Model United Nations Conference.

Much has been written about the importance of achieving a work-life balance (WLB) in the modern global economy. This issue is not a new problem, nor is it a problem that is specific to a certain country, culture or industry. Nonetheless, the author of this thesis feels that it has reached a critical point, in particular in Japan, and must be addressed on a global scale. This thesis will do an analysis of work-life balance in Japan by drawing on information and data from Japan, and surveying WLB issues in other countries. In simple terms, “work-life balance” can be defined as how much time a person who works has to divide his or her time between work, and other areas of life such as family and non-work activities. The factors that will be explored include labor laws and labor practices as well as gender roles. Since work-life balance is not isolated to laws and practices, the author will examine how corporate culture and family values play a part in either helping individuals achieve work-life balance, or as will be illustrated, how these things can have a detrimental impact on an individuals’ ability to allot a desired amount of time between working and spending time with family, and in other pursuits. This thesis will conclude with an analysis of Japan and how these issues affect Japanese society and families, and it will provide suggestions for what Japan needs to do to achieve a greater work-life balance. In particular, in the global era, we Japanese, as a society must reflect, and take positive steps in the following directions:
(1) What are we going to start doing from now on?
(2) What are we going to stop doing from now on?
(3) What are we going to continue doing from now on?

The author has continued to study about Australia to find out more about work-life balance from a different perspective. Time with families and students in Australia has helped in learning more about work-life balance, how people achieve it, and what is important to them for having a happy and well-balanced life. These experiences have given the author some clearer ideas for solutions to Japan’s problems. This is just a starting point. It is time for the next generation of workers to think about and try to achieve a better work-life balance, spend more time with their families and doing non-work activities. In conclusion, I believe that these new perspectives will lead to a more productive workforce, and a happier society.