Faces of FIUTS: Meet Masafumi

Faces of FIUTS is a social media campaign that collects personal stories from individuals who are part of our work. This week, meet Masafumi!

Where are you from? I'm from Japan. My hometown is Chiba, which is right next to Tokyo!

What's your FIUTS story? I joined the Seattle Language and Culture Institute in 2018. With 24 students from 6 countries, I discussed social issues in global leadership class, explored beautiful nature in Seattle, and created strong, lasting relationships. FIUTS taught me not only the joys of sharing stories with people from other cultures, but the importance of warm support for helping students adjust to their new environment. I'm so happy that I can confidently say these experiences and lessons have made me who I am today.

How will you change the world? My goal is to make the world more diversity-friendly. Using the hospitality I learned from FIUTS, I’d like to create more opportunities for people from different backgrounds to learn to appreciate the differences we have. I truly hope the more we accept the value of others, the more we can accept the value of ourselves.

Masafumi was a participant in the 2018 Seattle Language and Culture Institute, FIUTS’ summer camp for youth ages 13-17 from around the world. He is currently a senior in high school.

You can support programs that give young people like Masafumi opportunities to learn, grow, and broaden their perspectives by making a gift to the Optimism table at this year’s Virtual Blue Marble Bash.

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Faces of FIUTS is published regularly on the FIUTS blog, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Read past posts collected here!

Interested in being featured as a Face of FIUTS? Contact Ellen Frierson at ellen@fiuts.org or go ahead and fill out the form.