GIS Support Staff
The university experience is not isolated to the classroom, and while professors are an integral resource for students’ intellectual and professional development, the social and communal aspect of the students’ cohort can also play a vital role. To this end, the GIS Support Staff have been working hard since April 2021 in order to foster the positive elements of learning from your peers.
The GIS Support Staff is a group of students who work with our faculty to set up different community events to provide GIS students with assistance, advice, and other means of support from peer-to-peer. This includes a wide range of themed workshops which focused on practical topics such as sharing time management tips, advice on how to best prepare for midterm exams, providing studying techniques, and understanding the intricacies of job-hunting, with guidance based on their own experiences.
Although located in one of the largest cities in the world, GIS is widely-known for its small-class sizes, allowing the development of a very close-knit community. The GIS Support Staff embody this helpful environment, reaching out to students for the betterment of one another, enhancing the educational and university experience, and providing something you can only find at GIS.
Meet some of the GIS Support Staff Students
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Reinier Bonifacio
Hello, I am Reinier Bonifacio and I am from the Philippines! I moved to Japan about seven years ago to be with my family. The seminar I am in is the Intersectionality Seminar. I enjoy discussing social issues and talking about the intersection of race, class, and gender. I also love to take photos, draw, and design.
I am very grateful to lead the Student Supporters team and assist students who have a hard time grasping the information about our course, especially when communicating directly in person is more challenging. We will make sure to do several online sessions again this term. Please come along! The Student Supporters are always open to questions! Or even just a chat!
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Momone Hosokawa
Hi, I am Momo! I was born and raised in Japan but I always had an interest in English culture. So I grew up watching Disney channels and listening to Madonna with the eagerness to be able to speak English. As my interest in living in an English speaking country got stronger, I decided to study abroad in Canada for a year in high school. Through that experience I was finally able to find where I can fit in which changed my life and here I am! I found GIS, where I can utilize my English skills with a variety of topics to choose from to study. My current academic interests are sustainability and business, and sociology related topics.
I am very happy to be in a position where I can help out other students regarding classes, scheduling, and so on. Being a Student Supporter gives me more opportunities to openly communicate with people regardless of the age differences. So if you have any issues about schooling or perhaps other things that you want to talk about, we are here for you any time! Looking forward to talking to you!!
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Taylor Shinamura
I come from a (U.S) military family, and have been back and forth between Japan and California. My favorite subjects are Psychology and Literature, as I love to read, and am interested in understanding why us humans are the way we are.
I enjoy my role as a Student Supporter as I am able to connect with my fellow classmates, whatever year, background, and interests they may have. I love being of help to other people, and am grateful to have been selected and given this opportunity as a supporter. I hope to continue my role with positivity and gratitude, and to be able to accommodate the students!
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Yuki Tomita
Hi! I am Yuki and I lived in the U.S. until I was 10 and came back to Japan. I chose GIS because of the energetic, positive, and family-like atmosphere I felt at the open campus I visited as a high school student.
I feel that GIS is a safe place where I can be the me that I want to be, and I love both my friends and the professors I have interacted with as well! My main interest is marketing and I am in the Global Strategic Management seminar.
I am glad to be in a position where I can help other students since I have been helped a lot by my friends as well! The Student Supporters are always waiting with open arms! Please feel free to ask me anything, reach out to me, and I will do my best to help!
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Mio Yoshimoto
Hello! I’m Mio and I was born and raised in Kumamoto, the southern part of Japan. My mother took me to English classes when I was 3, so I had a little bit of exposure to the English language and a different culture back then. When I started to go to Junior High School, my English education officially began and my interest in learning English became stronger. I decided to study abroad in the US when I was a senior in high school. Until then, I was very passionate about the Japanese Archery club activities.
I decided to go to GIS because of the full English education, access to many kinds of academic fields, and the small number of students in each class. I enjoy discussing and learning something new everyday. I am in the seminar of Intersectionality (consisting of race, class, and gender, etc.), and have a strong interest in how Asian people are represented in the media.
I am enjoying my role as a Student Supporter especially because of the pandemic which prevents us from communicating with each other easily. This role enables me to talk to students from different years! Student Supporters are always willing to help you out so please feel free to talk to us!
GIS Student Relay Program
What is the Relay Program?
GIS successfully launched our cross-year student support system called “Relay Program” at the start of the 2021 semester. Based on student requests, the aim of the Relay Program is to facilitate making friendships across the GIS community by setting up groups of students from different years. It is designed to help welcome our new students, make new friends, as well as give a place for students to assist each other with questions they may have as they move through their GIS career and beyond.
As students move up in years, each Relay group passes down what they have learned to the years below them, creating a self-sustaining chain of learning for each new generation of students. As the Relay Program grows, it will help students learn from each other’s experiences at GIS, passing on some of the tips and tricks they’ve each picked up from year to year!
To read about the inaugural Relay Program session in the words of GIS students, please see the article below:
