MLCL student wins top prize at Japanese Speech Contest
MLCL student Lauren Makishima took first prize on April 22 at the Japanese Speech Contest sponsored by the Consulate General of Japan. Twelve finalists representing Harvard, MIT and other schools in the area competed in the advanced division.
Lauren’s talk addressed Japanese homogeneous cultural identity and what it means to be Japanese from the outside. Her perspective came from growing up as a Japanese-American whose parents do not speak Japanese. Kodansha America’s vice president noted that Lauren’s speech not only was extremely well presented — no mean feat in itself — but had challenging and solid content. Congratulations to Lauren! And congrats as well to Dr. Mariko Henstock, who showed great dedication in helping Lauren prepare for the competition.