Graduate Interview
Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
NAGATA,Shuhei（Graduated from the School of Education in 2018）
The inspiration behind choosing my career path came from the “food and health” issues I learned about through an overseas volunteer program and my travels to other countries
During the spring break of my first year, I participated in a WAVOC project (now a Volunteer Club Supported by WAVOC) that provided educational support to children in Hawaii in the United States. Following a month of preparations with people from different faculties and school years, the two weeks I spent in the field became an unforgettable experience that I can safely say was a turning point in my student life. The townscape inland was different from the resorts I’d been expecting to see, and poverty meant school meals were a lifeline for some of the children. The shock that I felt there is still engraved in my mind, together with the smiling faces of the children enjoying the Japanese karuta cards and Nagashi somen noodles.
This experience increased my interest in what life was like overseas, and I spent a year studying in the United States while I was at Waseda, and also went backpacking in around 20 countries. One of the social issues that I came to understand through these experiences was the fact that poverty and obesity are closely related. That realization inspired me to want to work in the field of food—a fundamental element of human life—and do something useful for society. After some job hunting, I chose Ajinomoto because I found meaning in the idea of being able to add deliciousness and nutrition through seasonings while respecting the deep-rooted food culture of a country or region.
The Waseda University campus is full of opportunities to meet and interact with diverse people with different values. Whether or not you take advantage of that environment is entirely up to you. Try something, talk to someone, ask someone—keep taking these small steps out of your comfort zone. You’ll be rewarded with new encounters and new opportunities every time, and if you keep on doing it, your four years will take on a shape that makes them uniquely your own.
【Encounters at WASEDA】I felt the importance of getting others involved, and more people to understand
I continued to be involved in the Hawaii project until graduation. From my second year on, I shifted my focus to activities in Japan, and worked on raising awareness about our activities by setting up a booth at the Waseda and Tomon Festivals. With volunteering, the fieldwork tends to get most of the attention, but it’s also important to spread information about the efforts and get more people to understand. I understood how doing this will take an activity focused at a point and spread it over a wider area—and expand the circle of support as well. Whether it’s a circle activity or volunteer work, you can also get a sense of reward from working behind the scenes to support other people’s activities, too.
Another great experience during my university days was studying in the United States. I also got heavily involved in the cross-country club at my university there. The student exchange program I was there on wasn’t one provided by Waseda, and it didn’t allow participation in club activities. Unable to give up on it however, I negotiated. As a result of explaining the benefits it would bring if I joined the club and how passionate I was about it, and thanks to the cooperation of the university’s senior administration and professors, my dream of joining the club became a reality. The experience taught me that even if something’s difficult to do alone, if you can get other people involved, share your thoughts and feelings with them, and get them to help, then you can make the impossible possible.
【Current Job】My work is fulfilling because I chose it based on issues that I became aware of
At Ajinomoto Osaka Branch, I’m involved in the sales of processed raw materials to processed food manufacturers. For example, suppose there’s a client who wants to make low-sodium products: my job will be to propose to and sell them processed ingredients and seasonings that’ll help them make low-sodium foods that still taste delicious. Although this work isn’t noticed by the consumers directly, it’s tremendously rewarding to know I’m contributing to enriching people’s diets by helping our clients create better products. I think the appealing thing about my current job is that it enables me to be involved in solving a wide range of issues, regardless of industry or product.
I often get to work with people with diverse ideas, through tenacious negotiations. When I’m doing so, I keep in mind the need to also imagine what lies behind their thoughts and opinions while dialoguing with them. This could be thanks to honing my communication skills during my university days through my WAVOC activities and studying abroad. I am now thanks to having pursued the goals that first began to grow in me in my student days—namely, wanting to be involved in food and do something with a global dimension. It’s enormously fulfilling and rewarding to be able to find my daily work so meaningful.
※This article is reprinted from Future Design Guidebook 2021.
