Our Campus Celebrity this week is none other than our very own Her Campus Correspondent, Iris – a third-year SILS student! The amount of activities she has on her plate is insane and yet she manages to excel in so many ways! Read on to find out how she manages to juggle it all!
As you’ll know, our Campus Celebrity section highlights students who are actively pursuing their passions in different ways. With the amount of commitments you’ve taken on in school, you definitely fit the bill for being passionate! Tell us a little bit more about the activities you’re involved in.
Currently I am the President of the Waseda Taiwanese Student association, one of the Campus Correspondents for Her Campus Waseda and also a member of Shinjuku Kodomokai, a voluntary circle that organizes activities for children. I’m also part-timing with a Japanese firm for some extra money!
Wow, that’s quite a lot of stuff to have on top of school. What made you decide to be so active in university?
I think that university is a very special time in life. There are so many opportunities for one to grow and develop their view of the world and find out what they want in life and it’s the time when you’re free to engage these opportunities. But four years isn’t all that long so the time we have now is really precious, and I want to make the best of it. That’s why I try to go outside of my comfort zone as much as I can and to do things that can only be done in university.
Tell us a little bit more about Kodomokai; it seems like an interesting choice of circle.
To be completely honest, I did not know which circle I wanted to join. I got the flyer from the circle during recruitment season and as a person who likes and gets along well with children, I joined it. The children who come to our circle actives are usually children with disabilities. Each of them have different issues and/or problems and sometimes they get angry without any specific reason or they do not talk for the whole afternoon. Many volunteers take up volunteering to add meaning to their lives. To me, however, I just feel really blessed to see the children grow and learn through their activities with us.
One of your most prominent activities in school (aside from the running the awesome Her Campus Waseda #shamelessselfpromotion) is running the WTSA. How is it like being in charge of bringing the Taiwanese student community together on campus? What are some of the things you guys do?
Working in the Taiwanese community is a really good experience since it is always good to meet people who share a similar background and culture with you. Becoming a student leader definitely adds value to my university experience and truly gives purpose to my life. Not only do I enjoy being actively involved in the Taiwanese community, I strive to make a difference. The best feeling comes from embracing challenges and exceeding my own expectations. WTSA is dedicated to strengthening the connection between Taiwanese students to give the students a strong sense of community as well as to provide information for Taiwanese students. We hold events like other universities in Taiwan, including welcome parties, experience- sharing seminars and themed parties like a high school uniform party. And we also hold events like Japanese students such as, gashyuku (合宿) and bounenkai (忘年会) Oh and this year, we joined Waseda-Sai again. We sold the Taiwanese fried rice noodles!!
Yes, the Waseda-sai. We’ve heard that you guys had a blast (and made a good profit) at it! Congrats! You’ve taken on such a wide range of activities at Waseda. What about after college? What are your future goals then?
I’m not entirely sure what I want to do after graduation, but I want to keep it open. Maybe I’ll go into business, civil service or non-profit organizations. Whatever I do, I just want to know that I am making a substantial difference in the lives of others and that making the world just a little bit better than the way it was before.