Page 78 - Future Leaders Magazine

EXPL
EXPLORE CULTUREORE CULTURE

Game on: Ifeoluwa, second from right,
worked as a Japanese speaker at last
year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro

My journey with

Future Leader Ifeoluwa Adeyemi shares the such as mathematics and chemistry and
also taking part in Kaichi’s annual school
ongoing bene ts and opportunities that came from trip to Hokkaido, in northern Japan. e
his decision to learn a new language at sixth form experience was incomparable.
Nearing the completion of the
International Baccalaureate, I was faced
with all the decisions and uncertainties
n early interest in Japanese language as a result of that passion. I was that university brings. I was torn between
cartoons sparked my curiosity. more pro cient than students who had been Economics and Japanese. I feared I would
I quickly progressed from studying the language for a year longer have to sacri ce one of my interests –
A enjoying Japanese shows to than I had. For my Japanese GCSE exams, thankfully, I tried a “economics with
developing my Japanese language skills I dropped only one mark overall across my Japanese degree” Google search.
enough to be able to communicate across reading, listening, speaking and writing I ended up studying for
three continents. exams. My initial love for the language a BSc Economics with
Aged 11, I gained admission to Dartford proved itself to be fruitful. Japanese at the University
Grammar School – renowned for its One coveted event at Dartford Grammar of Birmingham. During
language teaching. I learnt German as a was the Year 11 school trip to Japan. I was my rst year, I stumbled
compulsory component of my timetable, lucky enough to be among the handful of on an opportunity at the
and was later able to take on another students selected to go and spend two weeks Rio 2016 Olympics: they
language – this time, one of my choosing. discovering a new world. Experiencing were in search of a Japanese
e school o ered a plethora of choices the Japanese hot springs, adapting to speaker from the UK. A er
including Chinese, Spanish, French and the chopsticks lifestyle and making a series of interviews,
Japanese. e choice I made here would international friends added a lot to my I was o ered
kick-start my international growth in a way cultural development. To my surprise, the the role but
I could never have imagined. following year, my school decided to send needed to learn
I had an e ortless relationship with me to Kaichi Private School in Japan. I Portuguese
Japanese: for me, it was a fun pastime rather would spend a month alone at the school, to actually
than a subject I resented. My passion for the and would be the rst ever student to be it. I then
language o en shocked people – I assume given this opportunity. I found myself found myself
because of how quickly I developed in the delivering speeches, studying subjects in Brazil

76 FUTURE LEADERS | 2017-18