{"id":12101,"date":"2021-02-15T10:00:28","date_gmt":"2021-02-15T01:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/?p=12101"},"modified":"2024-11-19T16:17:26","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T07:17:26","slug":"icc-ssl-graduation-report-2021-glenn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/news-en\/2021\/02\/15\/12101\/","title":{"rendered":"A Second Home\u3000ICC Student Staff Graduation Report"},"content":{"rendered":"
Glenn\u00a0<\/span>
\n<\/span>Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies\u00a0<\/span>
\n<\/span>ICC Student Staff Leader\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>2019\/6 – 2021\/1<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h6>\n

My first interaction with the ICC actually happened when I was attending the orientation for new international students. After formalities such as a talk from the police<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0etc., I listened to the presentation given by two ICC Student Staff Leaders about all the things the ICC does. Of course, I never actually imagined I would become one of them myself, just that I did not have many friends in Tokyo and wanted to meet new people. The first ICC-run\u00a0<\/span>programme<\/span>\u00a0that I joined was the Language and Culture Exchange, whereby students are matched together in pairs or threes for the purpose of language exchange and making friends. I had just entered\u00a0<\/span>Waseda<\/span>\u00a0after a stint in Korea so I was lucky to be matched with two South Korean students. Shortly afterwards, I noticed the recruitment posters around campus for the ICC. Actually, I did not really think I had a chance considering my Japanese language skills had become rusty due to a lack of practice. However, I applied anyway and<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0somehow, I was accepted!\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

(photo by author)<\/p><\/div>\n

The first two months were a huge adjustment period, firstly, because everything was conducted in a foreign language. Secondly, I had no experience or knowledge on how to even write a business email in Japanese. <\/span>It was a huge challenge, and sometimes I would look up words from emails or documents that I did not know. My largest hurdle was preparing my own event, <\/span>\u2018<\/span>Scottish Night<\/span>\u2019<\/span>. Aside from the pressure of representing my country, I also had to contact external\u00a0<\/span>organisations<\/span>, arrange meetings and consult with them about the event\u00a0<\/span>programme<\/span>. Although at times I struggled, I was guided every step of the way by a full-time staff member, and from this, I eventually learnt how to create business emails, make meeting notes and call the groups and societies that I was going to work with, all on my own.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Recently, I planned and pulled off my last event as an ICC student staff member,\u00a0<\/span>\u2018<\/span>teamLab<\/span>\u00a0– Creating a Borderless World<\/span>\u2019<\/span>. Sadly, we were unable to hold it in-person due to the pandemic, but even after shifting the event to an online format, I could still use the skills that I had acquired at the ICC such as managing deadlines and reaching out to companies. The event contained lots of videos, photos and other kinds of media, so I was extremely happy that it\u00a0wasn<\/span>\u2019<\/span>t a typical talk session.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

(photo by author)<\/p><\/div>\n

Working at the ICC takes a lot of time and effort, make no mistake, especially when you also have classes and homework. However, my time at the Centre has proven invaluable as I shift from being a student to a worker in the real world. The ICC pushes you to develop your leadership skills, and not simply leading a team when it comes to hosting an event or working on a project, but also looking for ways to improve the student experience or how to improve productivity within the office. Furthermore, there are times when you may have four or five events happening over two weeks. In that case, you must keep track of progress, tasks and ensure everything is finished to a\u00a0<\/span>high<\/span>\u00a0standard. This\u00a0<\/span>organis<\/span>ing<\/span>\u00a0skill<\/span>\u00a0will also help you when you enter the final years of university, go on to further education or enter the workforce.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

(photo by author)<\/p><\/div>\n

In essence, do not think of working at the ICC as a normal part-time job that nets you some pocket money. It is not. Think of it more as long-term internship that will give you the skills to succeed in the future, and the chance\u00a0<\/span>to<\/span>\u00a0develop\u00a0<\/span>skills\u00a0<\/span>working with people, build\u00a0<\/span>problem-solving<\/span>\u00a0skills and<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0of course, become a leader. I would not trade my time at the ICC<\/span>\u00a0for anything. I met so many wonderful students\u00a0<\/span>who<\/span>\u00a0joined our events, made friends and had a great time at\u00a0<\/span>Waseda<\/span>, whether\u00a0<\/span>regular<\/span>\u00a0or exchange student<\/span>s<\/span>. On the flip side, I had the chance to work alongside bright and meticulous\u00a0<\/span>co-workers<\/span>\u00a0day-in-day-out, learning a lot from them in the process. Of course,\u00a0<\/span>a student staff leader<\/span>\u2019s time<\/span>\u00a0is largely based at the office, but I could also enjoy my free time with other staff members by going to restaurants together, bowling or house parties, or even to Fuji Q Highland! Work is crucial, but play is also important!<\/span>\u00a0I would not hesitate in recommending the ICC to anyone with a global mindset<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>a\u00a0<\/span>desire to bridge the gap between Japanese and international students.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Glenn\u00a0 Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies\u00a0 ICC Student Staff Leader\u00a0\u00a02019\/6 – 2021\/1\u00a0 My first inte […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12103,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[95,97],"tags":[147,94,117],"class_list":["post-12101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en","category-other-en","tag-blog-en","tag-general-en","tag-studentstaff-report-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12101"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33177,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12101\/revisions\/33177"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}