Dr. Kanagawa Japanese Friendship Scholarship Enhanced

Scholarship recipient Maho Muto, red kimono,
and SEH America Inc. Executive VP Tatsuo Ito.

Vancouver, Wash., and Japan have a long history dating back to 1834 when ship-wrecked Japanese sailors washed ashore and made their way to the barracks at Fort Vancouver.

The city of Joyo, Japan, located in Kyoto Prefecture, and Vancouver, have a more recent sister-city relationship that has garnered beauty on the campus of Clark College. The 100 blossoming shirofugen cherry trees that outline the campus were a 1990 gift from John Kageyama, president of America Kotobuki, to the city of Vancouver. In 2010, ground was broken for a Japanese garden. The tranquil landscape was also a gift to the city of Vancouver from Dr. Chihiro Kanagawa, CEO of Shin-Etsu Chemical Co, the parent company of SEH America.

At the dedication of that garden in 2012, Clark President Robert K. Knight announced a new scholarship—called the Dr. Kanagawa Japanese Friendship Scholarship—providing full tuition and fees to an international student, with preference give to a Japanese student studying at Clark.

Since that time, Clark College Foundation, in association with Kanagawa, expanded the scholarship to assist more Japanese students wishing to study at Clark in an effort to continue to strengthen the cultural bridge between the two regions.

International students show off flags from their countries of origin.

“The scholarship gives Clark the opportunity to bring the world to our students, who otherwise might not have the means to travel to the Far East,” said Lisa Gibert, president/CEO of Clark College Foundation.

In May, Tatsuo Ito, executive vice president of SEH America Inc., and the foundation, held an intimate gathering for a select group with interest in the international scholarship. The college garnered $20,000 in commitments that evening. In all, the scholarship has attracted $80,000.