2002年09月24日ニューヨーク学院入学式式辞（英語）

慶應義塾長安西　祐一郎

On behalf of Keio Gijuku, I would like to express my deepest congratulations to all of you, who have joined Keio Academy of New York.

Keio Gijuku is an educational institution with a distinguished history of 144 years, established in 1858 by Yukichi Fukuzawa. As the president of Keio Gijuku, I am so proud of welcoming you all to Keio Gijuku, particularly to this Keio Academy of New York, which is a unique and important school located in an international environment among Keio family.

Also I would like to convey my sincere gratitude to all the parents, relatives and others, who have made our new youngsters grow, and have decided to send them to be members of our Keio family.

As you all may know, Keio Academy of New York was founded in 1990 for educating students who were willing to acquire good experiences of living and learning in American culture as well as in Japanese culture, and could stand for young leaders who would act together to create the global society in the future.

Following points are stated clearly in the Mission Statement of the School. Let me cite the statement here:
1.Nurture each student's development as an individual and as a self-confident and contributing member of the community
2.Provide opportunities for students to experience diverse cultures and to prepare for a global society.
3.Instill in each student a strong sense of "self-esteem" and "moral independence" which has been a Keio tradition since its establishment in 1858.

It was in 1867, just nine years after Yukichi Fukuzawa founded Keio Gijuku, when Fukuzawa first visited the city of New York. He traveled to the east coast of the United States, taking the ship across Pacific and Atlantic Ocean via Panama. When he arrived in New York, he perceived the prosperity of New York, having the population of about nine hundred thousand at that time, living with modern social infrastructures such as steam engines and markets.

Seeing this prosperity and the society, he confirmed that any person or any country should have a strong sense of "self-esteem" and "moral independence" for not being threatened or conquered by other persons or other countries.

Time has passed, of course, since the age of Yukichi Fukuzawa. Many things and events have happened since then. However, as I cited the Mission Statement of this School right now, the "self-esteem" and "moral independence" have been inherited in Keio Gijuku, and you should grow these spirits as a member of Keio Gijuku.

Now I assume that most of you will spend your life on campus, staying at the dormitories. Many of you might have spent your time rather remote from your parents, relatives, or friends in your younger days. But these experiences may actually be a splendid opportunity to detect your potential abilities, to find new friends who share good thoughts with you, and to discover yourself that has not appeared yet. Through the life here, I believe that you will be directed toward "self-esteem" and "moral independence" that Fukuzawa pursued, and that has been inherited in Keio Family.

I strongly believe that each of you will be able to spend significant and truly satisfying life on this campus, under the warmest guidance of many people, in particular, our headmaster Professor Takuji Oda, teachers, staff, senior students, and members of the Board of Trustees with the chairperson Professor Hajime Yamazaki.

I ask for the parents and all the supporters living remote or close, or wherever, to give our new youngsters what I should call "empathetic support". By empathy, I mean mental, physical or any other supports that can be made by deeply and warm-heartedly following and inferring what and how the students perceive, feel, think and behave.

Well, you all are now members of the Keio Family. Please keep your eyes wide open, discover your own energy, have the warmest hearts to thank friends and other people, and acquire a tough mind to challenge for the future.

Keio Gijuku heartfully welcomes all of you, and hopes that you will spend the very best and delightful lives with our Keio Academy of New York.

Thank you very much.