Rina Miyoshi: A university student pursuing her passions.
Rina Miyoshi is a sophomore at ICU (International Christian University) in Mitaka, Tokyo. She’s originally from Ehime prefecture. She lived in Ehime until middle school and then went to a high school in Tokyo. Rina is visually impaired and can only feel the sunlight or very bright light. In this interview, Rina talks about her passions and challenges she had to overcome to become the individual she is today.
What are your hobbies?
My hobbies are running and walking with my friends and playing the piano.
I first came to the ICU campus last year and I have lived on campus ever since. I told my PE teacher that I wanted to exercise to stay healthy, so I started to run around the outskirts of the ICU. I jog about 3.3 km two to three times a week and invite my friends to run with me in the morning or in the evening. Musashi-Sakai station is about a 40-minute walk from ICU and you can commute by bus, but you do have to pay. I want to exercise and not pay, so I made the decision to walk to Musashi-Sakai station.
I took piano lessons from when I was three years old to when I was 15 years old, so about 12 years. I still play the piano and my favorite piece is Canon by Pachelbel. I actually played Canon with a cello accompanist at a concert when I was in middle school and that was an unforgettable memory.
I heard that you’re in the a capella group at ICU, tell us about that!
I’m a member of the a capella group in ICU named “UNBRAND” and I joined the group last June. I joined the welcome event of Unbrand and was very impressed by them. Moreover, the atmosphere was very welcoming so I decided to join. So far, I’ve participated in the online concert twice. For the first time ever in my life, I sang 風が吹いている/ 生き物が係 and 笑顔/生き物の係. I was the leader of 笑顔 for the summer concert this year. At first, I was very nervous and not confident that I could take this leadership position because I am visually impaired and I have to ask a lot of things. We also couldn’t practice in person, so we had to sing individually at home. We had to harmonize and it was difficult for me because it’s important to see the wave of the sounds.
As a leader, I tried to manage the schedule, create a good atmosphere, and maintain communication with members. For example, I talked to the new members of UNBRAND and I taught them how to voice record and I reached out to them about their worries. Although I am shy, I believe I succeeded in this leadership position. I was able to grow as an individual in this experience and I recognized my own abilities.
There are archive videos of our concert on Youtube, so please watch them!
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPv51iTVLfD7BGRjB0rAF-Q
Twitter: https://twitter.com/icuunbrand?lang=ja
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/icuunbrand/?hl=ja
Facebook: https://mbasic.facebook.com/icu.unbrand/
Rina Miyoshi singing with six other people in her a capella group
What are some memories from your student life that you’ll never forget?
In high school, we went on a school trip to Okinawa and I was a leader of the school trip. I was really nervous then and really wondered what I could do for my classmates. We decided to make resources about Okinawa prefecture and places we were going for our school trip. Our school trip committee consisted of five students, so each of us researched about the places in Okinawa such as coral reef reservations and historical preservation from the war. We made a pamphlet for classmates. I also collected information regarding what my classmates wanted to do and learn before the school trip. With the gathered information, we sent it to our tour guides. I went to a school for blind people, so the tour guides let us touch coral reefs and cook and experience many things in Okinawa. In the end, we wanted to tell the tour guides our feelings about Okinawa. When I collected sentences of opinions from my classmates, some people were late to submit so I contacted them and I helped them to write it if they were struggling.
Because of COVID-19, our high school graduation ceremony was canceled and on Feb. 27th, our teacher told us “Tomorrow is the last day of your high school life.”
On Feb. 28th, we each shared our memory with the class and it was really emotional. I also talked to my favorite teacher, my English teacher, with my friends. We gave him cookies, letters, and took pictures, and shook hands with him. That day was very memorable for me.
What are your greatest accomplishments?
My greatest accomplishment is passing the admission office exam two years ago. The contents of the exam were separated into two sections. For the first exam, I had to write five papers on prompts such as Why do you want to attend ICU? What is an experience that changed your perspective? How do you evaluate your leadership? I wrote them in Japanese supported by teachers in my high school every week. I also went to a cram school in Shibuya. At the cram school, one ICU student supported me for a total time of 16 hours. Adults also supported me in this writing process. They gave advice to me, but they mainly sparked conversations for me to write. I passed the first exam in October. At the end of October, I had my second exam, which was a discussion on social problems and we had to analyze graphs and tables. The topic of discussion was the death penalty system. We talked about our perspectives on this topic and the perspectives of those of different ages. Four people were in each group, so we answered the interviewer’s questions one by one and we had a discussion for 15 minutes. There was a presenter that represented the group at the end to summarize the discussion and I was the representative for my group. At the end of the exam, we wrote a short paper about the discussion in Japanese. The process of taking the two exams was very hard physically and mentally, but I was determined and I was able to achieve my goals!
Rina Miyoshi (top) and Melissa Chang (bottom) on a Zoom call for the interview
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced?
I recently joined the online study abroad program at the University of Victoria. Initially, I was rejected from their program because of my visual impairment. The study abroad program was gonna be held online for the first time, so the university thought they didn’t have enough hands to support me. I understood the circumstances, but I was still very shocked. I told the volunteer staff at the SNSS (Special Needs Support Service) office in ICU about the situation. They asked if I was satisfied and suggested that we should negotiate. I decided to negotiate, so we discussed the logistics on Zoom and they asked me questions about my computer skills. The leader told me to write about my circumstances, capabilities, and the kind of assistance I needed. I worked on the writing for two hours and I didn’t even eat any meals so I could focus on the essay! I finally submitted my accommodations to UVic. UVic finally accepted me and currently, the ICU staff are mainly assisting me through this program. It was a tedious journey, but it was worth all the effort and I’m very happy with the results.
I am currently writing a 1500-2000 word essay about environmental issues, more specifically, recycling problems in Canada. Through this program, I’ve learned about the purpose of research, the research procedure, and research proposals.
This six-week program is only for the summer and I really wanted to go to Canada, but too bad COVID came in the way.
What are your greatest characteristics?
I talk a lot and I love communicating with people. My hobby is walking and running but I feel as much fun doing those activities as when I’m talking to people. For example, I love having random conversations, but I also love having deep conversations about social issues or my fears about my future and disability. I enjoy sharing information with people and it is really fun. I am very shy but I do enjoy getting to know people through conversations. I also like talking to my teachers. During my spring term, I took an environmental class in English, so I couldn’t understand all the content. I went to office hours and asked questions, to communicate with the teachers.
What are your current goals? (short-term and long-term)
My short-term goal is to work really hard on the study abroad program that I’m currently enrolled in because my parents paid the fees for the program.
My long-term goal is to decide how I want to live and what direction I want to go in. Not only in terms of my future occupation but also my daily lifestyle and who I want to be surrounded with. I currently live on campus and campus life is really fun. However, little by little, I want to start thinking about my future.
How do you motivate yourself? What’s your inspiration?
I am well aware that I am lazy, but there are tasks I have to complete every day. Therefore, I go to the SNSS office and I work on my tasks there every morning. I don’t come back to my dorm until I complete my tasks. I tell myself that I can’t go anywhere unless I finish all my tasks. I also ask myself questions to make sure I complete my tasks.
My family and supporters are always helping me accomplish my goals and they do as much to make me happy. My teachers also have a lot of passion for teaching. People around me motivate me to work harder.
What are you most thankful for in life?
I’m surrounded by kind and funny people all the time. Although I struggle with my assignments and daily tasks due to my visual impairment, people around me lift me up and turn my mindset into a positive one. Therefore, I’d say I’m most grateful for my support system.
