Junko President:)

Very interesting lecture indeed. One of the best I've had so far in Autumn term. And by far the cutest person I have ever met on campus. After her hilarious but interesting and grateful lecture, I feel very proud and glad that she is the representative of our university.

Before actually meeting her and listening to her lecture, I had only heard her speech at our matriculation and saw a written interview with her and another president of some school on a magazine focusing on 受験(juken). From these sources, I had thought of her as the "women version" of the traditional Japanese presidents with long meaningless speeches... (Sorry for that Junko sensei). But I seem to have been wrong. Just like most of us, she was an ordinary high school student who had doubts about the 受験 system and therefore Sophia which was, back then, different from the other common Japanese universities. To pursue her wish to further study social linguistics, she moved herself to Penn Uni, which was kind of like her turning point for the rest of her life. She met a professor(I think she might have said advisor?) who she could rely on, studied her favorite fields, and made it to apply for a job in Japan. Working at Keio led her to come to ICU which has made her what she is right now: President of ICU.

Although she may have been just lucky in some points of her life, I think there is a lot to learn from her experiences. First, I think we really need to respect and cherish the relationships we have with others. Whether it be like an ordinary family friend, or an advisor of university, we never know, they could be our fairy god mother(or father) that has the key to change our lives forever. Junko sensei first travelled to the States, Connecticut just to meet her father's friend. But what she saw experiences was much more than just that. She had the opportunity to see the women's liberation movement in New York, which has been one of her motivations throughout her life. Moreover, her intimate relationship with her professor (advisor) at Penn Uni, allowed her to apply for Keio Uni.

Secondly, she never forgot to give up. She chose to apply for Sophia University even though she had a 50% chance of failing the exam. She chose to leave her family and country to pursue her dreams of studying her favorite fields. She didn't believe that a president of a university had to be a man, and became one herself. Her life events aren't normal experiences every girl would have done(or do). But I believe she managed to go through all of this because she never forgot that she could do or become anything she dreamed of. Just like the the famous Walt Disney's words: "If you can dream it, you can do it"

Thank you, Junko sensei:)