Meet Chiara (she/her), a student at UW who is in her 3A term of Honours Arts, majoring in Political Science and minoring in Speech Communications. On behalf of Renison and UW, Chiara, shown here at the Canadian Embassy in Japan, traveled to Japan this year as she participated in JACAC, the Japan-Canada Academic Consortium. Read the full interview below as she describes what her experience was like and how Renison supported her along her journey!
How
did
you
find
out
about
JACAC?
“I
found
out
about
JACAC
through
a
professor
here
at
Renison,
Kimie
Hara
who
teaches
East
Asian
studies.
I
took
her
class,
International
Relations
of
East
Asia
and
she
introduced
me
to
JACAC.
Although
I
participated
virtually
last
year,
I
had
the
opportunity
to
participate
again
this
year,
but
this
time
around,
I
got
to
go
to
Japan
in person!”
What
did
you
do
to
prepare
yourself
for
the
event?
“As
this
was
an
overseas
opportunity,
a
lot
of
preparation
was
needed.
For
example,
since
I
was
expected
to
attend
in-person
lectures
in
Japan,
I
had
to
complete
many
readings
before
then.
These
readings
were
about
environment,
gender
participation,
and
volunteering.
I
also
had
to
write
a
pre-assignment
paper
where
we
had
to
give
an
example
of
Canadian
identity
that
I
could
teach
in
1-2
minutes
along
with
other
criteria
such
as
answering
what
we
hoped
to
accomplish
as
Canadian
participants
in
the
JACAC
and
why
young
Canadian
people
should
have
an
interest
in
Canada-Japan
relations.
I
also
had
to
write
a
reflection
about
my
experience
at
the
end
of
the
trip."
Who
was
in
your
group?
“I
had
to
create
a
15-minute
presentation
with
a
group.
My
group
consisted
of
1
other
Canadian
student
who
was
from
Queen's
University
and
2
Japanese
students
who
attended
Josai
International
University
and
Tsuda
University.
We
worked
together
to
create
this
presentation on
a
topic
of
our
choice.
It
was
exciting
because
we
got
to
present
it
at
the
Canadian
embassy
in
Japan
which
was
a
great
experience.
Overall,
I
loved
seeing
the
different
perspectives
and
ideas
from
each
teammate.”
What
was
your
project
about?
"Our
topic
was
about
Canada
and
Japan
addressing
societal
challenges.
We
decided
to
be
more
specific
and
focus
on
the
environment.
For
example:
How
can
Canada
and
Japan
have
a
broader
role
on
a
global
scale
in
terms
of
tackling
Environmental
issues?"
How
did
your
final
presentation
go?
“This
year,
the
final
presentation
was
a
little
more
challenging
than
last
year
because
I
was
in
a
foreign
country.
Therefore,
there
was
less
time
to
prepare
since
I
spent
a
lot
of
time
sightseeing
and
being
a
tourist.
However,
the
overall
experience
was
super
positive
and
I
definitely
enjoyed
it!”
How
did
this
experience
benefit
you?
“This
experience
benefited
me
in
numerous
ways.
Getting
the
chance
to
go
to
Japan
and
work
with
other
passionate
students
while
experiencing
Japanese
culture
was
definitely
an
opportunity
of
a
lifetime!”
How
did
Renison
help
you
along
the
way?
How
were
you
supported
by
the
language
instructors?
“Renison
played
a
big
role
when
it
came
to
making
this
all
possible.
Renison
was
‘the
bridge’
between
me
and
Japan
as
they
provided
me
with
all
the
details
and
gave
me
the
form
itself.
This
was
incredibly
helpful
and
allowed
me
to
be
organized,
and
more
aware
of
what
was
going
on.
I
wouldn't
have
had
the
confidence
or
motivation
to
participate
in
JACAC
without
Professor
Hara.
She
encouraged
me
to
participate
in
this
amazing
opportunity!”
Do
you
have
any
advice
for
future
students
considering
this
experience?
“My
advice
would
be
to
enjoy
it
while
you
can!
Since
you
are
overseas,
you
have
to
go
into
it
open-mindedly
and
welcome
new
experiences
with
open arms!”
If you have any questions about JACAC, send Chiara an email at c23mclean@uwaterloo.ca