Name: Daodu Zion oluwadarasimi

School: Coolidge High School

Grade: 11th

Zodiac Sign: Libra/Year of the Boar (inoshishi)

Favorite Food: Cassava Flakes

An issue I care about: Racism is a worldwide issue. Whether for African Americans or Asians. Nobody can escape the long arm of racism anywhere, whether in schools, workplace or on the streets. We often put labels on people. “He dresses like this so he must be into this music.” “She goes to that school so she must be rich.” We can also stereotype people from different racial backgrounds as “lazy”, “brainy”, “neggro”… you get the idea. The way to beat the stereotypes? Don’t judge a whole group. Get to know people from different racial backgrounds and find out how much you have in common.

About me: I am more of an indoor person. I would prefer to stay at home unless it is something I absolutely love doing. I am 5% an extrovert. I love reading and when I am not really that tied up with schoolwork. I would love to travel the world someday, god willing.  I listen to mostly K-pop. I always want to have fun when I am learning about something that I really like. Activities I enjoy doing are going to concerts, watching k dramas, reading manga, watching anime, shooting survival games, racing games, etc.

Aspirations: I want to be a successful Veterinary Doctor. No actual reason why I want to be a veterinary doctor. I think the driving force is that I have always been afraid of dogs and like just animals in general, so I am challenging myself to not be afraid but to also offer help when necessary. I am looking forward to building an amazing life for myself.

Why I’m doing this program: I just love the Asian culture and wish to learn more about it. I have been really interested in learning more about Asian culture these recent years – from watching Korean dramas to Japanese anime to Chinese dramas. The Asian culture has always amazed me from the foods to the clothing, the culture just fascinated me. My set goal is that by the end of this program I would have familiarized myself with everything about Japanese culture and generally Asian culture. I think I should be able to achieve this goal because I already have my fair knowledge of Japanese culture, geography, and civilization, even though I have not really gone in-depth to the language part before.