Meet Mrs. Kimura, our School’s Admissions Director 6 December 2017
“Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.” – Albert Camus
Where are you from and how long have you been living in Tokyo?
I am originally from Osaka, Japan and I have lived in Tokyo since 2002.
Have you lived or worked in other countries?
I attended university in Boston, USA. Besides that, I have travelled to many places, but have never lived or worked outside of Japan.
What did you study, why, and what did you like the most?
I attended university in Boston, specializing in entrepreneurship. Our university would start the first year by putting us into groups of about 50 students, giving us start up money, and we would need to start a company. When we broke even, we donated profit to those in need. Before opening a textbook or teaching us the logistics of the business world, we were able to get hands on experience, that means, experiencing hardship and success before learning about it. This experience was so effective as it gave all the students insight into which areas of business (finance, marketing, HR, etc) we wanted to concentrate on. I wish we could have our students experience something like this.
What are your relevant work experiences until now?
I started working for an investment bank in Tokyo right after I graduated university. I worked for 10 years, until I decided to start my own business, after all, my university specialized in entrepreneurship! After a short while, I joined A-JIS.
Since when are you working in A-JIS?
I’ve been working here since December of 2012.
What are your roles here at A-JIS?
I am the Admissions Director here, giving tours and information sessions to prospective families. I also conduct interviews with the relevant Principal to students who wish to study here.
What do you like most about your profession?
I love it that I get to meet all sorts of families with various backgrounds. I also enjoy being able to share all of the wonderful things our school is doing.
What do you do for fun?
I am frantic about baseball, and I am either watching professional baseball on TV, or at the stadium, if I am not cheering on my sons playing baseball! I also enjoy reading, because I get to have experiences through reading that otherwise would not.
Do you have any special sayings or expressions?
I try to remind myself, and my children, to always be modest, to never take anything for granted, and to appreciate everything we have.
Is there something interesting about yourself you would like to share?
I am a third-generation Korean born and raised in Japan. I have been fortunate to have attended an international school from K to G12, and to receive the IB Education. I was never forced to think a certain way, or to behave like a person from a particular country. I was able to appreciate myself for who I am, as an international citizen in this generation, to appreciate my ancestors from Korea and to love Japan as my home country. I hope that our students can feel the same when they graduate A-JIS. After all, if we wore Halloween costumes all year long, it would never matter what our skin or hair or eye color is. We are all international citizens!
