Staff profile of the Student Participation and Job program
Cultural Affairs Student Advisor, Cultural Affairs Division
Haruka Sasa, 4th-year student, School of Fundamental Science and Engineering
Students who study and work on campus play an important role in the university. Here, we introduce the profiles of students to highlight what kind of students are involved in the Student Participation and Job program, and what their schedules are like. In this article we introduce Haruka Sasa, a student in the School of Fundamental Science and Engineeringthatworks as a Cultural Affairs Student Advisor at the Cultural PlanningSection. We talk to her about her daily life as someone involved in planning various events to spread Waseda culture.
Q. When did you first get involved in the Student Participation and Job program?
I started in December 2017.
Q. What got you started?
I’ve always loved museums, and I was looking for an opportunity to get involved in publicity activities for them. Also, the university has many fascinating facilities, and I wanted the local residents and other visitors to learn more about them, and make use of them. That’s when I learned about the job opening on MyWaseda and applied.
Q. What kind of activities are you involved in?
In order to spread Waseda culture, I propose and implement plans from a student’s perspective. So far, we’ve held events such as one where we used the “Monozukuri Kobo” (Manufacturing Workshop) at the Nishi-Waseda Campus, as well as the “Abura-soba Studies” event where we collaborated with several abura-soba (soup-less noodles) shops near the campus. Furthermore, in order to encourage interest in Waseda’s museums among more students, we’ve created word puzzles, and planned original gifts for project participants.
Left photo: Monozukuri Kobo event (October 2019). Participants designed and created original drinking glasses and tote bags (Haruka is third from the left).
Right photo: At the Aburasoba Studies event (Lecture Edition) (October 2018), a talk show was held with the owners of three abura-soba shops near Waseda University (Haruka is second from the right in the back row).
Q．Tell us how you’ve felt since you’ve joined the Student Participation and Job program.
Through my activities as a Cultural Affairs Student Advisor, I learned about some of the fascinating aspects of Waseda University that I wouldn’t have learned just by going to classes. There are so many cultural facilities and learning opportunities within the university premises; it would be a waste not to make the best of them.
Also, in order to hold events, you have to think not only about the day of the event, but also about creating proposals, negotiating with the people involved, publicity, and various other things. I think that the skills I’ve gained through these experiences will prove to be useful no matter what kind of occupation I pursue in the future.
Q．How do you manage to balance multiple things, like your studies, the Student Participation and Job program, and club activities?
I always remind myself to write out everything I’m doing, and to set clear priorities so that I can sufficiently focus on each task. Also, when working as a team, I always value good communication so that we can work together efficiently.
At the Waseda Campus Building 1 (Waseda University History for Tomorrow Museum)
Q．Do you have any suggestions for improving the Student Participation and Job program that you’d like the university to hear?
Although the Student Participation and Job program offers valuable experiences to students, I feel that it’s not very widely known. I want to further promote exchanges with other organizations and hold more events, and let more students know about the existence of the program.
Q．Tell us about your future aspirations, and what challenges you’d like to take on.
I always remind myself to write out everything I’m doing, and to set clear priorities so that I can sufficiently focus on each task. Also, when working as a team, I always value good communication so that we can work together efficiently.
Most events are held at the Waseda Campus, so I think there are many students on the other campuses who don’t know about the university museums, or about the events such as Museum Week or Waseda Culture and Arts Week. I hope we will be able to proactively hold more events outside of Waseda Campus and encourage more students to participate.
Weekly schedule during a school term
Once a planned event is decided, we set aside time separate from the all-hands meeting in order to make final decisions on the content of the event. Starting around two weeks before an event is held, we spend about 10 hours each week to have meetings, conduct simulations, work on publicity, and make final adjustments so that we’re ready for the event.
