Tag: JET

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Alumni Updates: Japanese Studies Fall 2020 News: Japanese Studies

Yuri Lowenthal & Tara Platt in Conversation

The Japanese Program celebrated Homecoming 2020 by hosting a conversation with alumnus Yuri Lowenthal (’93) and Tara Platt, two of the most in-demand voice actors for anime and electronic games. Lowenthal graduated from W&M with a degree in East Asian Studies, having spent his junior year on a study-abroad program in Japan. After graduating, he returned to Japan on the JET Program before finding his calling as a voice actor. He has worked on English-language releases of some of the most popular anime series, Naruto, in which he voiced Sasuke, as well as Gurren Lagann, Code Geass, and Persona 4. His partner, Tara Platt, is also a highly successful actor, having voiced characters from Naruto, Sailor Moon, and more. Together, they also run a production company, Monkey Kingdom Productions, which has produced several films and a live-action web series. And they have co-authored the book Voice-Over Voice Actor (Buy Bot Press).

The event, held over Zoom, drew an enthusiastic crowd of about 50 students, faculty, and members of the wider community, who spoke with Yuri and Tara for an hour and a half. Our guests recalled how they discovered their career paths, shared their experiences in that world, and advised students on pursuing voice work. Asked about the JET Program, through which the Japanese government hires college graduates from foreign countries to teach English in public schools, Yuri called it, “one of the greatest experiences of my life,” adding: “when you’re an actor, all your choices, and all your life-paths, and all of the things you’ve done make you that actor who is different from every other person who is trying to do what you’re doing. So, I think you should embrace any broad swath of experiences that life offers you.”

Students were thrilled to meet the talented actors behind many of their favorite characters. One student asked about voicing unlikeable characters. Tara responded, “I’ve played reprehensible characters before … but I’ve had a lot of fun doing them!” and continued, “I wouldn’t hang out with some of my characters, but I can enjoy playing them.” Yuri agreed: “Sasuke’s a downer! I am the opposite of Sasuke in most ways, but I love playing him because it forces me to dig deep and exorcise some of my demons!”

The Homecoming event was made possible through the generosity of the “Saigo-san” Fund. The Japanese Program looks forwarding to inviting Yuri and Tara back soon!

 

 

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Graduates 2019-2020 News News: Japanese Studies Spring 2020 More

Margot Baden Receives 2020 Japanese Book Prize

Margot Baden, the Modern Languages and Literature Book Prize winner for overall excellence in the Japanese Studies program, has displayed exemplary academic and extracurricular achievements. A Japanese Studies and International Relations double major, she strives to deepen her understanding of Japanese culture, history, language, and politics. Ms. Baden decided to pursue Japanese Studies after participating in High School Diplomats, a program that brings together students from the U.S. and Japan. She served as a leader of William & Mary’s Japanese Cultural Association since her freshman year and studied abroad at Keio University in Tokyo, one of her most rewarding opportunities. Today, she is one of the first graduates of William & Mary’s Japanese Studies program and will relocate to Japan to work as a JET Assistant Language Teacher. She later hopes to facilitate cross-cultural connections between the U.S. and Japan. We wish Ms. Baden the best in her future endeavors.

Congratulations, Margot! おめでとうございます!

Margot Baden
Margot Baden
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Graduates 2016-2017 News News: Japanese Studies Spring 2017

Japan Section Year-End Prizes

Honor Society inductees Xi, Chang (front row), Ma, Gao, and Cho (back row)

The Japanese Section awarded several prizes to mark the end of the 2016-17 academic year.

First, we are proud to announce the recipients of this year’s Kinyo Awards for Excellence in Japanese language study.  The prize recognizes the hard work and achievement of the top student at each level of William and Mary’s Japanese language program. The awards are made possible through the generous support of Mr. Kazuo Nakamura of Kinyo Virginia, Inc., who established the awards in 2007 and has maintained them since then.  This year’s recipients are:

  • Hayley Snowden (100 level)
  • Michael Park (200 level)
  • Veronica Deighan (300 level)
  • Mackenzie Neal (400 level)

Second, we inducted several graduating seniors into the Japanese National Honor Society.  Inductees must meet several criteria, including: completion of five semesters of Japanese language study (or their equivalent), all taken for a grade (rather than audited or pass-fail); a grade-point average of at least 3.5 in Japanese language courses; and an overall GPA of at least 3.0. This year’s inductees are:

  • Wei Chang
  • Gyeong Young Cho
  • TianChu Gao
  • Kexin Ma
  • Anastasia Rivera
  • Jiacheng Xi

Finally, the award for Outstanding Achievement by a graduating senior in Japanese goes to Anastasia Rivera.  A double major in Philosophy and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (and a past winner of the Kinyo Prize), Anastasia was an active resident of Japan House, served as a TA for the Japanese language program, and spent a summer in Japan conducting research on a contemporary genre of fiction, the “keitai shousetsu,” or “cell-phone novel.” Anastasia will be putting her studies and experiences to excellent use next year, as she returns to Japan on the Jet (Japan Exchange and Teaching) Program.

Congratulations to all our awardees! おめでとうございます!

Outstanding Achievement winner Rivera
Outstanding Achievement winner Rivera
Kinyo Award recipients Snowden, Park, Deighan, and Neal
Kinyo Award recipients Snowden, Park, Deighan, and Neal
Honor Society inductees Xi, Chang (front row), Ma, Gao, and Cho (back row)
Honor Society inductees Xi, Chang (front row), Ma, Gao, and Cho (back row)