Japan Society: Welfare Officer/Secretary

I am Craig, currently a second year undergraduate Law student. I am not from Japan myself but I love Japanese food, anime, and pretty much just Japanese culture in general but the main reason why I am so invested is because Japan Society is where I met my best friends and I want to make it a unique society that everyone can enjoy. I think I can contribute greatly as part of the new committee as I've had experience teaching Japanese lessons and I am great at contributing new ideas to the committee to hopefully make Japan Society even greater (plus ultra!). Please cast a vote for me!

Hi, my name is Lisa Odagami Grosshans, running for Secretary/Welfare Officer. 

What do you love about JSOC? What could be done further to improve your experience at JSOC?

As a first-year student navigating university life, JSOC provided me with a home away from home. I’ve made amazing friends, attended fun events, volunteered, and kept in touch with my Japanese identity. As Secretary/Welfare Officer, I want to support the JSOC community and give back by fulfilling this role – to expand this home for others.

As Secretary/Welfare Officer, I will:

• Collate more information in the weekly newsletter: include surveys, dates of career events, events for that week, and more! e.g. advice on learning Japanese and restaurant recommendations ranked by society members
• Ensure your voice is heard in committee meetings and reflected in the organization of events
• Guarantee the safety and welfare of all members - carry out risk assessments and conduct questionnaires and surveys, so that issues are addressed, and experiences remain positive
• Work to make information easier to access e.g. unify social media platform, create website
• Support more language learning/immersion style events

My fluency in Japanese and English will aid me in the collaboration with other societies/clubs as well as committee members and give me more autonomy to fulfil my above goals. I hope you will consider me for this role and thank you for your time!

Hello everyone! My name is Gordon and I am a 1st year medical sciences and engineering student from Hong Kong. I’ve been intrigued by Japanese culture since my brother shared his manga and toys with me, they sparked my interest in learning more about the culture in different aspects, discovering things such as Tokusatsu shows, trains in Japan and Jpop made me really want to visit Japan. I’ve been to Japan several times with my family and I particularly enjoyed travelling in both Tokyo and the Kansai region (especially the food!). With a bit of prior knowledge in Japanese, I studied the language in my A levels too.

I was so delighted when I discovered the Japan Society and went to the events. Besides being able to enjoy all kinds of activities, my biggest takeaway from participating is getting to meet all kinds of people who also like Japanese culture like I do. I really like this place where we can share our interests we have in common. Especially when lockdown nowadays make travelling difficult, I am determined to help expand this inclusive environment in UCL for anyone to experience Japanese culture, to share their passion and to try out new things!