Happy holidays and best wishes for the new year from everyone involved with the American Studies Program at Willamette University and Tokyo International University of America!  Please click here to see our card.  Enjoy!

(photo courtesy of Mio Yokokura, ASP 2016)

The third annual English Speech Contest was held Saturday, November 14, on the Willamette University campus. This was a fun event  where students participating in the American Studies Program at Willamette University and Tokyo International University of America gave 4-5 minute speeches as they reflected on their study-abroad experiences.  The speeches were judged by three Willamette University students.  All of the speeches were well done and very interesting. There was also a performance by WU acapella group, Tandem.

To see photos from this year's event, click here.

About 55 alums from Willamette University and Tokyo International University of America gathered to reiminsce at a reunion party on Saturday, October 17, in Tokyo, Japan.  The event was held at an Irish pub, Dubliner's, in Shinagawa.  Attendees included a few regulars, as well as students who have just graduated in the past couple of years, and everything in between.  This year, there was a group of 14 from the Willamette University Alumni Association who were at the beginning of a tour of Japan. James Lippincott, Assistant Vice President, Alumni and Parent Relations, Willamette University; Masaki Shimada, Director of Campus Life and Academic Services, and Barby Dressler, Director of University Relations/Special Programs, were all in attendance. The "oldest" alum was WU'57!

It was great fun to see the attendees interacting and networking with each other. As is typical in Japanese culture, after the reunion there was a second party, which also drew many of the alums, plus a few more! To see photos from the event, please click here.