Be A Global Citizen!

Michelle Hobby-Mears is the Associate Dean of Students and Director of Student Activities at Soka University of America (SUA). She speaks about her journey to support the early years of building out SUA’s residential programs. Her strongly aligned values and calling to support students from all around the world informed her decision to work at SUA for over 26 years. She speaks about the importance of faith, leading a contributive life, and engaging in dialogue. Check out what Michelle has to say about being a global citizen! 

Frank Arce is the Assistant Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid at Harvard University Graduate School of Education. He is a mission-driven leader who believes education is both a public good and a powerful vehicle for social mobility. His work centers on expanding access, affordability, and student success—especially for traditionally underserved populations. Check out Frank’s journey as a first generation student who found his passion to serve students within higher education. With a deep commitment to HGSE’s motto of learning to change the world, Frank shares valuable insight into the ways that Harvard attracts and fosters global citizens. Enjoy the conversation! 

Christine Hwang is an online learning designer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is interested in civics and literacy learning design for multilingual learners as well as the role of EdTech/AI in 21st-century education. She grew up traveling between the US and China. Her experiences navigating change in different social and cultural contexts challenged her to understand her identity from multiple perspectives. Her interest in education stems from both her passion to advocate for mental health and her family background. We discuss at length the importance of digital tools and learning environments within school contexts. Check out what Christine has to say about being a global citizen in the digitalized world! 

Simon Chow is PhD candidate at the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies. He is a first gen student who immigrated to the US from China with his family. His journey from Bowdoin college for undergraduates studies to Harvard for graduate studies is marked by seeking a deeper sense of belonging with his own Chinese heritage and LA upbringing. Simon shares some of the practical ways in which he joined in efforts to create spaces of belonging for minority groups in predominantly white spaces. He also offers insights about what being a global citizen means as a first gen student. Check out Simon’s journey to build more communities of belonging. Enjoy!  

Alejandra Valencia is an elementary school vice principal with over three decades of teaching experience. Her story starts with the struggles of moving to the US with her family from Mexico as undocumented migrants. Despite growing up with the stress of possibly seeing her parents get deported, she was intent on focusing her efforts on education. With the support and encouragement from her parents, she used education as a vehicle to empower herself and strengthen her voice to combat the injustices she witnessed in the manual labor her parents did. As an educator and Latina, she grew from encounters with people who showed her new possibilities of becoming. Alejandra is providing that same example for her students, teachers, and staff within the school community. With hope and strong faith, she believes that through education, new generations will rise above the obstacles and create pathways of peace. Enjoy the conversation! 

Yukari Hirano is the Vice Principal at the International School for Sciences and Culture in Costa Mesa. She is passionate about creating an inclusive and supportive community of learners where each student feels seen and loved. Her experiences as a student in Soka schools in Brazil, Japan, and the US were foundational in her own development as a global citizen. Yukari also shares about her own personal journey with grief and the way in which she was able to model what creating hope for oneself and others looks like. Enjoy our conversation!

Julian Velarde is the Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator at the Orange County Fire Authority. He is passionate about fostering an inclusive environment through strategic DE&I planning and community engagement. Prior to his work in the Fire Authority, his decades-long career in higher education cemented his ability to create safe and engaging spaces for students to feel a deeper sense of belonging. Julian speaks to his childhood experiences of being raised in a foster family and then an adoptive family as crucial experiences for him to embrace others and cultivate gratitude. Through his personal experiences of disruption and navigating change, he expresses his commitment to supporting people to grow from new possibilities and respect diversity. Julian also brings in his own Christian beliefs and values to understand what his mission is to contribute to society as a global citizen. 

Dr. Paul Sherman is recently retired Chair, Community Social Services program at the University of Guelph-Humber, Toronto, Canada. 

He is the founding and current director of the Soka Education Research Centre on Global Citizenship where he mentors undergraduate students in conducting research on topics related to the theory and practice of Soka education and global citizenship. 

Paul has developed and taught undergraduate courses on global citizenship in Canada and Japan, and has developed and led study abroad courses in Sweden, Japan, Italy, and Austria. For the past four years he and his research students have been engaged in a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) project with Japanese and Malaysian high schools. 

Paul received his PhD in Education and Social Justice from Lancaster University, UK. He has authored numerous peer reviewed publications on the highly aligned subjects of global citizenship education and Soka education. Enjoy our conversation about his efforts to build greater awareness of interconnection and global citizenship.

Naomi Otsuka is an actor, writer, and singer. She is interested in philosophy and the aesthetics of beauty across different cultures. Her curiosity about how people convey their emotions and articulate their values led her down the path to acting. By channeling her own lived experiences and engaging in method acting, she views the process of bringing a character to life as an act of bridging differences and connecting with the humanity of the character. She speaks about the intersection of art and global citizenship. Check out what Naomi has to say about being a global citizen!  

David Jackson is the founding Head of School at the South Bay Classical Academy. Previously, he was Head of School at Canterbury School, a PK-12 independent day school in Indiana. David has over two decades of teaching experience and his subjects included Latin, AP World History, AP European History, and AP Government & Politics. David shares his passion for classical education and how he had personally benefited from this education in his youth. Find out what David has to say about being a global citizen!