Sociology major expands leadership and education skills in APEX fellowship

Nachi Goto ’25, a sociology major at The College of Wooster, completed an APEX fellowship at Ryugaku Fellowship, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering youth and making global education more accessible to students and schools in Japan. Through her fellowship, Goto served as a mentor, providing middle and high school students with opportunities to become active leaders in their lives by exploring their interests. Collaborating with her fellow mentors, she crafted and delivered workshops to guide students on their journeys of self-discovery. Through her APEX fellowship, Goto was able to expand her leadership skills as she connected with coworkers and students from around the world.

“What I found most interesting about the work was that I got to explore ways to effectively bring a community together. As a student interested in exploring new forms of education, the summer camps hosted by Ryugaku Fellowship are always a place where I feel like I am making an impact on education in the exact way I want.”

—Nachi Goto

Q: How did you learn about the internship opportunity for your APEX Fellowship? 

Goto: I did an internship with the organization last summer. Initially, my friend introduced me to the organization and their summer camps. As a student interested in exploring new forms of education, the summer camps hosted by Ryugaku Fellowship are always a place where I feel like I am making an impact on education in the exact way I want. 

Q: What interests you most about the work you did? 

Goto: What I found most interesting about the work was that I got to explore ways to effectively bring a community together. All the mentors come from various backgrounds. It was very time- and energy-consuming, yet very fulfilling, to have conversations with each of them to understand what I could do for them to feel a sense of belonging in the mentor community. Before the actual summer camps, the mentors met online and built workshops. At the summer camps, we executed the workshops and consulted with the participants for more personal guidance on their self-exploration journey. 

Q: Who was your fellowship mentor and how did they help you to succeed in this position? 

Goto: My mentor was Mehri Yavari, assistant professor of communication studies. She was a huge source of motivation for me. For each weekly reflection I submitted, she gave me thorough feedback, which helped me further understand what I was gaining from the experience. 

Q: What are some skills you’ve learned that you see yourself carrying forward in your career? 

Goto: One of the biggest skills I learned in this experience was leadership. Being one of the four leaders among the mentors, I learned the importance of carefully observing those around me, especially the mentors and other leaders. It was very difficult to always control my emotions and stay friendly to everyone and smile through the summer camps, where the environment was already very stressful and demanding. However, I also really enjoyed serving in the position and learned that I like working as a friendly leader. Becoming friends with my co-workers led me to be a successful leader! 

Q: How has the internship helped you to see what’s next for you? 

Goto: One thing I realized during this internship is that I want to go to graduate school to study comparative education. Another thing I realized was that I would love to stay in this organization as long as possible! 

Posted in Experiential Learning, Showcase Stories 2024 on August 10, 2024.