Japan

Global Ambassadors Program Helps Students, Faculty and Alumni

Anonymous — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Global Ambassadors Program Helps Students, Faculty and Alumni Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 03/04/2024 - 00:00

Christie Sounart

Japan’s Forever Buffs Tokyo alumni chapter has an open door for all affiliated with ��񱦵�. The chapter provides students, faculty and alumni the opportunity to meet with local alumni or students when they visit.

“You always have to have a trusted local partner when getting into a foreign market, and there are no better trusted people than local alums,” said Nobunaga Koga (IntlAf’98), who will take over as chapter leader this year.

The chapter, which has gathered alumni together for decades, is part of a worldwide network of organized groups of alumni sponsored by the ��񱦵� Alumni Association who live in cities across the U.S. and overseas and who aim to connect with each other in a specific geographic location.

In January, the chapter partnered with ��񱦵�’s Global Ambassadors Program — which advocates for the university around the world, provides global perspectives and offers

current students and faculty experiences with alumni who are living abroad or have an international background — for an event in Tokyo. More than 80 alumni attended, including former CU men’s basketball forward Josh Scott (Soc’16), who now plays basketball for the Yokohama B-Corsairs.

Alumni with the Global Ambassadors Program, which started in 2016, host events, offer internships, open the doors of their businesses or organizations and connect CU affiliates with people they know in the area.

“Global ambassadors have been instrumental in hosting events such as in Tokyo and London, establishing student exchange programs in Bremen, Germany, arranging visits for student programs and establishing dual degree programs in places like Mexico City,” said Manuel Laguna, faculty associate for global engagement and MediaOne professor of management science.

Yuka Hasegawa (ChinLang&Lit MIntlEdu), who graduated in the 1990s, has been involved with hosting Buffs in Japan for more than 20 years and sees the importance of a global network for CU.

“It has been my dream to be a bridge between the U.S. and Japan since I was a child,” she said. “It is such a rewarding experience for me to not only benefit the Buffs, but it also enriches my life in countless ways. I feel CU in my heart.”

If you are interested in becoming a global ambassador, visit here. For more information about creating a network for the CU community, visit here.

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Photos by Brian Scott Peterson

Program held a successful event with the Japan alumni chapter in January.

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“I Feel CU In My Heart”

Anonymous — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 23:13:45 +0000

“I Feel CU In My Heart” Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 02/14/2024 - 16:13

Christie Sounart

Yuka Hasegawa (ChinLang&Lit MIntlEdu), who graduated in the 1990s, lives in Japan and splits her time between Tokyo and Yokohama. She is vice chair of the alumni chapter in Japan, Forever Buffs Tokyo, which for more than two decades has hosted alumni, students, faculty and staff from ��񱦵� for events, internships and career opportunities. In January, she was part of a CU Global Ambassadors event in Tokyo which hosted more than 80 alumni.

How long have you been involved with ��񱦵�?

I’ve had an ongoing relationship with ��񱦵� for over 35 years. While at CU, I was one of the starting members of the Japanese Student Association, Japanese Movie Club and other Japan-related food and culture clubs. The opportunity to be passionate and deeply involved in teaching language and culture was luckily expanded for me as I became a teaching assistant when completing the professional teacher license program in teaching Japanese through the Colorado Department of Education, and then an instructor (visiting professor) in the Japanese department (known as East Asian Languages and Literature at that time). It was a privilege for me to have now-Chancellor Philip DiStefano as my dean of the School of Education. And my scholarship from CU for Semester at Sea helped broaden my view for the immense value of a cross-cultural education.

Why did you get involved in the Japan alumni chapter?

I’ve been involved in the alumni chapter for more than 20 years. It has been my dream to be a bridge between the U.S. and Japan since I was a child. I spent my childhood and early education with my parents in New York — that’s where the motivation started. These memories and experiences made me want to receive a higher education degree in the U.S.

I had the life-changing fortune of getting to know Boulder and CU thanks to my father, an engineer who at one time was assigned to work for a company in Boulder. When I spent a whole summer with him, a young woman who was a CU student and who worked at the front desk of the hotel we stayed at showed me around the campus. I was impressed by the beauty of the huge campus and by the vibrant student life, and fell in love with ��񱦵� instantly. That was when my tie with CU started.

These childhood and CU experiences made me want to contribute back because of the hospitality that I received from the U.S. It is such a rewarding and humbling experience for me to not only benefit the Buffs we help, but it also enriches my life in countless ways. I feel CU in my heart. Making someone happy makes me happy. It’s truly fulfilling and heartwarming. That becomes the source of my energy.

What sort of connections have you made with other chapter members during this time?

In Japan, we have hosted alums, scholars and students and high school students who may go to CU in many different cultural enrichment activities. A good example was when we hosted the inaugural visit of students and faculty from Leeds Business School in May 2016. About 30 students were hosted by the very first Fulbright Scholar from Japan after WWII, Mr. Akira Horie (MMktg’54), who connected us to the Japanese global company Mitsubishi. And, in 2018, to serve Buffs better, I obtained an official tour conductor license in Japan to help show them around the city and visit businesses. It is my wish to continuously be of assistance to CU.

Does a particular event that involved CU stand out to you?

I enjoy supporting alumni meetings or parties through the chapter and accommodating staff or scholars visiting Japan. It is a special honor for me to be involved in CU chancellor or president visits. Collaborating with CU, working together to create a tie with the U.S. and Japan and, most importantly, being of assistance during their stay in Japan are the most delightful events of my life.

Why is a global presence important for ��񱦵� to have?

Each cultural exchange can be one that is given on a grassroots level. These exchanges not only enrich our own lives, but it also contributes to a bigger global presence. We can broaden our horizons and foster mutual respect deeply. We can share knowledge, exchange ideas and it deepens our understanding of each other. I respect and cherish this philosophy. This is my lifelong work that I wish to continue forever.

Photo by Brian Scott Peterson

Yuka Hasegawa is vice chair of the alumni chapter in Japan, Forever Buffs Tokyo, which for more than two decades has hosted alumni, students, faculty and staff from ��񱦵� for events, internships and career opportunities. In January, she was part of a CU Global Ambassadors event in Tokyo which hosted more than 80 alumni.

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Remembering Barrier-Breaking CU Professor Joyce Lebra

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 17:00:00 +0000

Remembering Barrier-Breaking CU Professor Joyce Lebra Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/11/2022 - 10:00

In 1958, ��񱦵� professor Joyce Lebra became the first American woman to receive a doctoral degree in Japanese history. Lebra — who grew up in Hawaii and witnessed the exploitation of Indigenous Hawaiian and Asian immigrant populations — received her degree from the Harvard Radcliffe Institute. Four years later, she began teaching Japanese and Indian history at CU. According to the College of Arts and Sciences, she was the first and sole female history professor for 15 of her 29 years at CU.

Last spring, the Consul-General of Japan in Denver recognized Lebra for her work, and she received the Order of the Rising Sun medal and ribbon on Aug. 27. According to The Japan Times, Lebra wore the medal every day until her death a few weeks later on Oct.10, 2021, at the age of 95.

Reflecting on the achievement, Lebra told The Denver Post in April 2021: “It’s such an amazing way to end my career and my life.”

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Photo by Carnegie Library for Local History/Museum of Boulder Collection

In 1958, ��񱦵� professor Joyce Lebra became the first American woman to receive a doctorate degree in Japanese history.

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Ramen King

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Dec 2017 18:56:00 +0000

Ramen King Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 12/01/2017 - 11:56

Christie Sounart

Ramen wasn’t Ivan Orkin’s calling. At first.

In 2006, Orkin (Jpn'87) was living in Tokyo with his family, jobless and restless. The U.S.-trained chef tried for three years to fit in with the Japanese culture he adored, but struggled to find his place in Japan as a Jewish Long Islander.

“I felt quite hopeless,” said Orkin, who had worked at top New York restaurants, including Lutèce. “I felt like I was never going to find my way.”

His wife, Mari, a native Japanese, suggested he open a ramen shop.

“I didn’t have a clue how ramen was made,” said Orkin.

But ignorance was no obstacle.

Orkin developed a unique twist on traditional ramen — thin noodles served in a piping-hot meat or seafood broth, sometimes with other toppings — a hugely popular dish in Japanese cuisine. Tokyo alone has thousands of ramen shops.

Located in Tokyo’s western suburbs, Orkin’s 10-seat restaurant, Ivan Ramen, drew media and locals who were curious to sample an American chef’s take on ramen. Orkin offered homemade noodles (rare in Japanese ramen), aromatic flavors, few (but choice) toppings and light double-broth bases made with chicken and pork. Obscure-to-Japan ingredients like roasted tomatoes and rye flour added to the soup’s appeal.

In a glowing 2009 review titled “Ivan Ramen: Artisan ramen with NY accent,” The Japan Times wrote: “You will not taste anything like this anywhere else in Japan.”

Acclaimed Japanese ramen critic Hiroshi Osaki — who claims to have eaten more than 23,000 bowls of ramen — called Orkin’s ramen “amazing” and “delicious.”

Success in Japan has since led to two other ramen restaurants and a pizza restaurant in New York, a Netflix documentary and a new life back in the United States.

As The New York Times put it in 2013, “Ivan Orkin appears to have pulled off a chain of unprecedented feats.”

A Love for Japan

Orkin’s infatuation with Japan began when he was 15 years old and worked as a dishwasher in a sushi bar in Syosset, New York. He reveled in trying new dishes, which were radically different from the frozen meals he ate, and hated, at home.

When it came time for college, he chose ��񱦵�, which offered both a dramatic mountain escape from New York and a Japanese studies program.

At CU, academics weren’t really Orkin’s thing — “I would make breakfast for my friends and they would do my homework,” he said — but he enjoyed the Japanese program.

“It’s one of my great memories of college,” said Orkin. “I learned just enough about Japanese grammar.”

After graduating, he moved to Japan and taught English for three years, a job he found unoriginal and uninspiring. He met his soon-to-be first wife, Tamie, and the couple moved back to the U.S., where Orkin studied at the Culinary Institute of America in New York. There he met his eventual business partner, David Poran.

“He was like Woody Allen on 12 cups of coffee,” Poran said of the young Orkin.

Afterward, Orkin worked under Bobby Flay at Mesa Grill and at Lutèce in New York. When Tamie became pregnant with their son Isaac Orkin (Jpn’19), he accepted a more stable, higher-paying job with Restaurant Associates, a New York-based hospitality company.

In 1998, when Isaac was two and Tamie was pregnant with the couple’s second child, she died of a sudden illness. Devastated and eager for his son to remain rooted in his mother’s Japanese culture, Orkin began taking him on annual trips to Tokyo. On one of these trips, in 2002, he met Mari over a bowl of ramen, and married her three months later. The couple settled in Tokyo, and Orkin began feeling his way into the future.

After Ivan Ramen took off in 2007, Orkin added a second restaurant in Japan and created a popular line of instant ramen.

“Ivan’s very analytical, he’s extremely intelligent and he’s slightly OCD,” partner Poran said. “I think that’s a combination for success.”

By 2012, ready to return to the U.S., Orkin and Mari moved their three sons to New York. He opened Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood and his flagship restaurant Ivan Ramen in the Lower East Side. They, too, were instant hits. The New York Times refers to him as “an American ramen master.”

These days, he stays out of the kitchen. Mostly.

“I still work on recipes, I still train people, but I don’t have a spot in my restaurant,” he said. “But when there is something for me to do, I’m there all day and all night.”

A Call from Chef’s Table

Last year, the crew behind Netflix’s Chef’s Table, a documentary series profiling renowned chefs, came calling.

“Netflix was the first time I ever really allowed a television camera to see my life that closely,” he said, adding he filmed five days in New York and five days in Tokyo. “It was hard telling everybody your innermost secrets.”

After the episode aired in February 2017, Orkin’s name, and food, grew more famous still.

“It’s completely been one of the most wonderful things that’s ever happened to me,” he said.

These days, Orkin, who lives in the Hudson River Valley north of New York, is exploring potential new ramen restaurant locations elsewhere in the U.S. Meanwhile, he’s also dabbling in the pizza world. He and Poran opened Corner Slice inside the Gotham West Market to rave reviews.

“The pizza business is a big deal for us,” said Poran. “We have big expansion plans.”

There’s never really any telling what’s next for Orkin.

“If there’s anything I’ve learned in this life," he said, "it's when I get tired of doing something, I’ll just do something else.”

Photos by Daniel Krieger

Japan went crazy for Ivan Orkin's ramen. Now America has the fever.

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Global Ambassadors Program Helps Students, Faculty and Alumni

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