Students from Randolph-Macon College Visit Japan and Conduct Research on the Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Accident
During the first two weeks of July 2016, a group of Randolph-Macon College students, faculty, and staff members traveled to Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Ishinomaki, Japan during Phase 1 of the 2016 Randolph-Macon College/Ishinomaki Senshu University exchange program funded through a grant from the TOMODACHI Taylor Anderson Memorial Fund.
Anderson, a Randolph-Macon College alumna (Class of 2008) lost her life in the 3.11.11 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. The Randolph-Macon College/Ishinomaki Senshu University exchange program, now in its second and final year, brings together students and faculty from Anderson’s alma mater with students and faculty from Ishinomaki Senshu University (ISU). ISU is located in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture where Anderson served as a JET (The Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme）for three years from 2008-2011.
The students and faculty are participants in the College’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) Program, and are conducting research into the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear accident. While in Japan, the group met with and interviewed local and national political leaders, including the Honorable Ichiro Fujisaki; heard from a survivor of the Hiroshima A-Bomb; visited the Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant; met with survivors of the 3.11 disaster; and observed first-hand the effects of the 3.11 disaster and the ongoing recovery efforts in Ishinomaki and Onagawa.
None of the Randolph-Macon College students who visited Japan in 2016 had ever been there before. Rebecca Reidy, R-MC Class of 2017, said: “I could not be more appreciative that I got to be a tiny part of Taylor Anderson’s epilogue. Learning about Japanese culture was a privilege, and provided me with a research opportunity I could have never imagined, including the chance to understand my discipline from a new perspective.”
Mayumi Nakamura, Randolph-Macon’s Assistant Director of International Education, who is a native of Japan and served as the group’s translator throughout the trip, added: “Ishinomaki, where our alumna Taylor Anderson ’08 devoted her life to teaching English and becoming a cultural bridge between our two countries, has also become a very special place to many of us. The people we encountered and experiences and learning we shared will remain in our hearts and enrich each of us for the rest of our lives.”
After returning from Japan, the four students presented the results of their research projects at an annual summer research symposium. Each student presented a poster summarizing their project and findings, and the four collaborated on a powerpoint presentation that summarized their research and cultural exchange experiences while in Japan.
In September, 2016, seven Ishinomaki Senshu University students and faculty members will visit the United States as the other half of this year’s program. The ISU group will spend five days in Washington, DC and a week in Ashland on the Randolph-Macon College campus.
