Raymond Strack (ASIJ 2005) 

TIMESTAMPS

Bonus Clips

Shasta Grown https://shastagrown.com/  

Music Credit https://www.bensound.com/

Tokio Takai (St. Marys International School 2017)

Tokio Takai graduated from St. Mary’s in 2017 as a 12-year veteran and currently studies Government & Legal Studies at Bowdoin College, where he is expected to graduate in May of 2021. 

Upon graduation, Tokio will return to Goldman Sachs as an Analyst in their Merchant Banking Division in Tokyo, where he interned over the past summer.  Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Tokio had worked both on the sell & buy-side. Tokio most recently worked at Jefferies (2020-2021) as a part-time Equity Research Associate covering TMT. He also sat on Jefferies’ Equity Sales desk as a Summer Analyst in 2019. At SOSV, Tokio was involved in Venture Capital, investing in and growing tech startups throughout Asia amid the COVID-19 pandemic. CLSA introduced Tokio to the world of finance, where he worked in the Equity Research department covering Financials.   Prior to working in finance, Tokio founded a food-tech startup and had held various internship positions at Safdie Architects (most recently known for their development of the Marina Bay Sands and Jewel Changi Airport), Trip.com, and Keidanren (US-Japan Business Council).   

Up until college, Tokio alpine ski raced competitively, eventually representing Japan at the international level. During the summers, Tokio would ski race in New Zealand where he trained with the local Kiwi team. Tokio has been skiing since the age of 2 and continues to ski to this day. 

At St. Mary’s, Tokio was part of the Cross Country, Soccer, and Buccaneer Swim teams. He also sang for the Varsity Ensemble directed by Randy and Rachel Stenson.  Tokio was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan and is native in both English and Japanese.   

TIMESTAMP

Natuski Uemura (Former Aoba International School)

Before I entered Aoba Japan International School as an ESL student, I spoke no English and my only experience abroad was a vacation trip to Guam (my parents didn't and don't speak English and have never lived abroad). After immersing myself in American style education for 3 years, I graduated as Valedictorian of the class in 1999.

After AJIS, I attended a Quaker high school in Pennsylvania then went to Washington University in St. Louis. After graduation, I went into a PhD. program in Political Science at Stanford University but left the program after 1 year with a Master's degree as I wanted to "explore" the world more before committing myself to a life in academia. There was a slight possibility that I would go back to the program after working for few years but I never went back.

After Stanford, I worked for an Asian VC in Silicon Valley then moved back to Japan where I started a career in M&A advisory. I worked for various firms including Credit Suisse and Deloitte before going freelance, doing translation and analyst work for financial institutions, consulting firms, and funds. My now-husband (boyfriend at the time) got seconded to his firm's Mumbai office, so I went along. While continuing to work as a freelancer, I also started a jewelry business, designing jewelry, manufacturing it in Jaipur then selling it in Japan. That's when I started to explore my creative side in business.

I started a Youtube channel in June 2018, initially to share vegan cooking recipes then expanded the topic to include yoga, mindfulness, sustainable living, etc. 

Find Natsuki at Tokyo Veg Life! 88K Subscribers! ​

Shinji Yamasaki (ASIJ 2003)

Timestamp

Yu Hayami 早見優 (ASIJ 1984)

Hayami is a J-pop singer and TV actress in Japan. In 2011, the Japanese music television program Music Station listed her as the 50th all-time best-selling idol in Japan, with 2,850,000 records sold.  Yu Hayami was born in Atami, Shizuoka, and was raised in Guam and Hawaii from the age of 3 to 14 years old. She was scouted by an agent at the age of 14 and soon moved back to Japan to start her career as a singer. She attended ASIJ from 1981 to 1982. She entered Sophia University and graduated, receiving a Bachelor's Degree in Comparative Culture.  

 In 1982, Hayami gained her J-pop singer's debut with the single "Isoide Hatsukoi" (ASAP, my first love!) after being scouted by a talent agent in a shopping mall’s elevator in Hawaii in 1980 when she was only 14 years old. Named “Bilingual girl back from Hawaii” due to her ability to speak very fluent English because of her background, Hayami was instantly recognized and touted as one of the best newcomers to watch out for. 

She proceeded to win most of the major newcomers’ awards by end of 1982. In 1983, her fifth single, "Natsu Iro no Nancy" (Summer Coloured Nancy), was selected as a campaign song for a Coca-Cola commercial, and she became a cover girl of that. The single became Hayami’s first Big Hit, making it to the top 10 of the Oricon Chart, winning countless awards. As a result of the success of the song, Hayami made her 1st appearance at the 34th edition of the year end NHK Kouhaku Red and White Song Festival. Hayami participated consecutively 3 years in the prestigious show. (1983 - 1985) ​ 

Hayami shifted her focus to become an actress and TV & Radio presenter in the 1990s. Being able to speak fluent English, Hayami’s host programmes were all catered to English speaking education materials and were all very popular. Hayami continued her successful presenter’s work till current, and can still be regularly seen on entertainment varieties programme singing her signature songs from the early stage of her idol career.   

TIMESTAMP

Dr. Gwen Thornton (ASIJ 2009)

EPISODE 56

Wookie attended ASIJ from the fifth to the eighth grade (1997-2001) before completing high school at St. Paul's School, a boarding school in Concord, New Hampshire.

Wookie then attended Yale University, receiving a B.A. in Ethics, Politics and Economics in 2009. After two years teaching high school English and journalism in DC Public Schools through Teach For America, Wookie matriculated at Harvard Law School, from which he earned his J.D. in 2014.

Wookie is currently the Staff Attorney at the ACLU of Hawaiʻi, where he works to defend people’s civil rights and civil liberties through litigation, lobbying, public education, and other forms of advocacy. Among the issues Wookie works on are the criminalization of poverty, bail reform, policing, reproductive freedom, gender equity, and freedom of expression.

Before joining the ACLU of Hawaiʻi, Wookie was an associate at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP in Washington, D.C., where he litigated high-stakes business disputes involving things like advanced high strength steel, table saw safety technology, and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. While there, Wookie also maintained an active pro bono practice, including representing undocumented Latino immigrants in challenging a landlord’s discriminatory rental practices under the Fair Housing Act. Wookie also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Catherine C. Blake of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

Wookie and his wife currently live in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. In his free time, Wookie trains for and competes in 100-mile trail races, surfs in Waikiki, and otherwise takes advantage of the many opportunities for outdoor exploration in Hawaiʻi.

Timestamp

1:03 - Introductions

3:07 - American Boarding school vs International schools, deciding to leave the international school scene for America

7:22 - Challenges of settling into American boarding school as an international student

13:34 - Deciding to work for Teach for America after graduating from Yale

18:28 - Interest in equity and civil rights rooted from Yale years when studying Ethics-Politics-Economics (essentially, political philosophy)

22:28 - Harvard v Yale

26:20 - Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP - the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill case

29:12 - Digitization of documents in court cases

32:03 - Deciding to move out "West" a shift to Hawaii and the ACLU - and the effects of a near-death coma experience in Colorado

42:10 - Going from a coma in July to a 100K race in December - a miraculous recovery

45:45 - the logistics of running a 29-hour race

51:28 - the ACLU - the most recent case he is working on in Hawaii

55:41 - the ACLU - prison reform and justice reform

59:43 - What is to come

Natasha Kostek (ASIJ 2004) @ New York,

Natasha joined the ASIJ community in 2000 and spent all four of her formative high school years there. Growing up as a first-generation Brazilian-American in a homogeneous Connecticut suburb, Natasha had often felt stymied. When she moved to Japan, she found home; she learned how to become a scholar and a world citizen. Reflecting back on her education at ASIJ, she feels privileged to have learned from such passionate teachers. Teachers who impacted her greatly are Javier Fernandez and Chaiken of Bio, with whom she is still in contact.  

Natasha’s experience as a third culture kid has guided many of her personal, professional, and academic decisions. It guided her to move to New York, one of the most heterogeneous metropolises in the United States; to jump at the opportunity live in Brazil as a finance headhunter covering the Latin American region, and to apply to her current doctoral program’s bilingual track to receive training in nondiscriminatory assessment and therapeutic practices.  

Natasha is presently a fourth-year doctoral School Psychology student at St. John’s University in Queens, NY, USA. Within this doctor of psychology (Psy.D.) program, her responsibilities have been multifaceted: coursework, teaching, clinical work, research, and leadership. The marriage of her doctoral training and multicultural background has reinforced her commitment to advocacy work and cultural sensitivity in the therapeutic context.  Natasha is passionate about mentoring high school and college-aged students and welcomes contact about pursuing training in the field of mental health. For targeted resources, see the Doctoral Application Resources folder located on her website: www.natashakostek.com/documents ​

Episode Summary

Ben Carr (ASIJ 2007)

Episode Summary

Timestamps

Karuna Shinsho (ASIJ 1986)