DASNR
International
Student of the Week

Home Country:
Japan

Japan is a country steeped in tradition and history but with a vibrant, modern economy. The scope of Japan's economy is second only to that of the United States.  Japan's continued rapid economic growth, since the nation's modernization began in the later half of the nineteenth century, has gained the world's attention.  Economic growth has not always been steady, however; on a number of occasions, such as during the oil crises of the 1970's, and after the collapse of the bubble economy in the early 1990's, Japan has had to overcome major economic hardships. In doing so, they have shown the world that the Japanese economy can weather hardships and recover.   Now that the nation's economy generally is prospering, the  focus has turned to the improvement of the quality of people's lives. Education is a key component of that new focus.



Kota Okahashi
January 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management....

Kota Okahashi enjoying the Japanese gardens in San Fransisco (above).

This weeks International Student of the Week is Kota Okahashi. He is a senior graduating in May with a Forestry Major, in the Urban Forestry option. He is in the department of National Resource Ecology and Management. Kota is from Nara, Japan which is rich in history and has some of Japan’s oldest Buddhist temples. He speaks English as well as the Japanese Western dialect.

Kota is very busy and has been a part of the Forestry Club as well as being very active volunteering at the volunteer center. In his free time he enjoys being outdoors camping, fishing and canoeing. His favorite thing to do however is travel, and since he has been in the United States he has traveled to fifteen different states and plans on going to Europe as well. He enjoys seeing new things and experiencing different cultures.

Kota came to the United States because he has been studying the English language for quite some time and wanted to study in an English speaking country. He came to OSU because of the great agricultural programs and his unfamiliarity with Oklahoma. He enjoys visiting places he does not know much about and then likes to learn as much as he can about that place.

Upon graduation is May he will be traveling back to Japan where he plans on getting a job in urban forestry. He finds it important to practice urban forestry because Japan is full of cities which have a need and demand for urban forestry. Also, he loves interacting with people and trees and urban forestry is a good combination of the two. Kota is looking forward to seeing his family as well; he has one sister and one brother attending college in Japan. His father is a landscape architect while his mother is a respectable housewife.

“Being an International student is not all about just studying, but making sure you see and do as much as you can in another country,” said Kota.

His advisor is Dr. Hennessey

 

Interviewed by Taryn Fast



The photo above is Nara, Japan, during the season of Cherry Blossoms. This is Kota's home town.


The people in the photo above from left to right are Kota's sister, Miwa, his brother, Yuya, Kota, and his Mother.


In the photo above, Kota is in Times Square in New York City on New Years Even 2007 with his girlfriend, Mina.