Congratulations on ASP Global Ambassadors!

Jul 25, 2021 (Sun.)

The Asian Studies Program has launched a new program in which international students who have made excellent contributions to international exchange are appointed as “ASP Global Ambassadors”. This year, six international students were appointed.

This is in recognition of their hard work and many positive contributions to Kansai Gaidai’s Intercultural Engagement Program (IEP) and Service Learning class projects.

On July 24, 2021, the award ceremony was held by zoom. All the six recipients participated in the ceremony from the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Mexico, and Malaysia.

In the beginning, Reiko Hiromoto, Executive Director of the Center for International Education, warmly welcomed the recipients and presented the Certificate of Appointment to each of them. Then a congratulatory video message from Dr. Eiko Tanimoto, President of the Board of Trustees & Chancellor, was delivered. “Your cooperation made the IEP and other intercultural exchanges so successful. I hope to meet you in person sometime in the near future,” said Dr. Tanimoto.

In addition to the certificate, a Japanese authentic business cardholder, a 10-day free on-campus accommodation voucher, and the Japan Rail Pass were given to each recipient.


<ASP Global Ambassadors>
Connor Heward (Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, Canada)
Jill van Emmerik (Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands)
Bryce Bible (The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA)
Scott Hiroya Hobbs (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA)
Marianna Astengo (ITESM-Monterrey, Mexico)
Jin Teong Ang (Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia)

The ceremony was concluded by sharing their memorable experiences throughout their activity with Kansai Gaidai. Connor Heward from Humber College stated, “I have two impressive memories. Firstly, I participated in IEP as a Project Manager, so I was able to see the great impact on many students during the very difficult time of the pandemic. The second one, which is the most impressive, was the “Dream Project,” in which I interacted with Japanese high school students and shared our dreams with each other.”