School: McKinley Technology HS

Grade: Rising 11th grader, Class of ’25

Biography: I am a 16 year old DC high school student. I am very interested in a variety of shows, movies, and anime. I played soccer for a long time and still play today. I am also interested in art in every form and like to draw in my free time. In my lifetime, I have tried to learn Korean and found myself interested in the common art style portrayed in Japanese art. I also love to play video games such as “Call of Duty” and “Need for Speed.” I also really love listening to music. It really improves my mood and helps me get my day started off right, especially on school days.

Expectations: My expectations from the Japan in DC program is to gain a better understanding of Asian culture, more specifically Japanese culture, especially how it’s presented in my everyday life and in DC. In general, I also hope to gain an understanding of the Japanese nature and impact on the world. I don’t expect my expectations to be checked off all at once, but I do expect to gain that sense of understanding of the culture and its representation in DC through the many visits this program offers, and my knowledge of Japan to increase not only from the program but the outside research that I strive to do from inspiration from the experiences and in-class learning from the program.