Why I Came Back to AIU for Graduate School: Alumni Voice, Brayden O’Brien, High Point University, USA

Brayden (second from right) at the Kanto Festival during his first stay at AIU.

My time as an undergraduate international student was one full of fulfilling desires and welcoming surprises. I anticipated that my time would end up being an adventurous one, but it was nothing that would have prepared me for what would come.

Lasting Memories of AIU Experience

Being a member of the AIU Kanto team while attending classes with a thought-provoking and ever-questioning diverse student body helped expand my horizons to limitless possibilities that have impacted my studies in AIU as well as after my return to my home country.

Impact After Returning Home

I took part in multiple events after returning to the United States, which I give credit and influence due to my time in Japan. This included serving with Model United Nations traveling around America, working with the local community of High Point, North Carolina, and furthering my pursuit of becoming a teacher by working with local high school students.

Personal Benefit and Growth

Since completing my exchange, I have obtained a level of confidence as well as global and social awareness to the world around me. Due to the small size of this school, I have received constant attention and appreciation from both an illustrious, ambitious student body as well as from a knowledgeable, insightful faculty.

Finding a Sense of Home in Akita

Despite my home of New York being on the other of side of the globe, I can proudly say that I have established my own sense of home and belonging to both the AIU community as well as the greater Akita region. I felt a great necessity in making a return to this university as a graduate student, one to be molded in a global citizen ready to make his mark on the world.

I am thankful for the opportunity that AIU has given me, and wish to help make it a haven for those international students who wish to experience this part of Japan and for those Japanese who wish to build bridges with a diverse student body from around the world. Let’s continue to make our strides and understand what it means to be a global citizen.