The Profoundly Impactful Words from an SFC Lecture That Became the Driving Force in My Life | Minami Tsubouchi (Graduated in 2000, Faculty of Policy Management)

2014.04.01

Minami Tsubouchi

Graduated from the Faculty of Policy Management in 2000

Board Member and Secretary-General, Education Support Global Fund, a general incorporated foundation

When I was in my third year of junior high school, I studied abroad in Canada by myself. I returned to Japan for university, but someone who knew about SFC advised me that its environment was similar to that of a university overseas. I looked into it and was attracted by the opportunity to learn from an interdisciplinary perspective, so I decided to take the entrance exam. Fascinated by the ability to deepen my learning in a wide range of fields, I dedicated my university life to my studies rather than to club activities. Then one day, a shocking event occurred. In my third year of university, a professor showed our class a photograph of anti-government guerrillas in an Asian region being tortured. The professor told us, "From a global perspective, you are part of a handful of extremely privileged elites," and continued, "You have a duty and responsibility to act for society." In high school in Canada, I had classmates from conflict zones like Croatia and Palestine, and I myself was aware of various global issues. However, after I became a university student, that awareness had faded. I even felt angry with myself, thinking, "What have I been doing!" The reason I ended up working for organizations like the World Economic Forum (the Davos conference secretariat) and the Bahrain Economic Development Board after graduation was that the professor's words from that lecture were driving me. I believe that the powerful impression from that day at SFC is the driving force behind why I now run "Beyond Tomorrow," an organization that aims to cultivate leaders who can contribute to the world.