By Juvia Han, Social Media Editor
Alumnae from Keisen University in Japan visited Bryn Mawr College on Friday, October 5, where they were guided around campus by current Bryn Mawr College exchange students from Tokyo’s Keio University.
Keisen University was founded by Bryn Mawr aluma Michi Kwai. Bryn Mawr College is one of the stops on a a horticultural tour that Keisen University has created throughout the United States that retraces the steps of Kwai’s time here in the country.
While touring Bryn Mawr, the visitors discussed their founder Michi Kwai, who graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 1904 and brought the idea of a small liberal arts women’s college back to Japan. The group visited the dorm where Kwai lived, as well as other buildings on campus such as the Campus Center and Park Science Center.
One of the particular highlights of their tour was the sharing of pictures of May Day activities by the exchange student guides. By the end of the tour, the alumnas discussed how valuable the experience of visiting the college was, and were very grateful for Kwai’s contribution to their university education. They pointed out how a liberal arts education contributed to their development as strong, aspiring, and smart women in the modern society.
Keisen University embraces the philosophy of respecting individuals, improving women’s knowledge, eliminating prejudice, and loving nature. The guests noted that they felt the same sense of belonging and warmness here on Bryn Mawr’s campus.
In addition, they strongly expressed a willingness to create an exchange program between Keisen University and Bryn Mawr, much like the one that Bryn Mawr currently has with Keio University in Tokyo.
Keio University is one of five international schools that have an exchange partnership with Bryn Mawr. The partnership allows students from Keio University to spend time studying at Bryn Mawr. The goal of the program is to foster a relationship between the two schools, and allow the opportunity for students to study outside their home country.
Despite its positive intentions, some students feel that the current international exchange program with Keio University has some systematic problems. According to exchange student Mia Sasaguwa ‘20, she has encountered problems registering for classes and communicating with advisors.
Exchange student Kaye Xu ‘20 reported that she was told to take first-year classes even though she is a junior. She said that her counselor asked her to take Arabic introductory classes, ignoring the fact that she had already studied it for two years.
The major concern of the two students is that they will be unable to fulfill their home university’s requirements for graduation. These accounts show that there may be deficiencies in the procedural aspect of the exchange program that should be improved in order to better serve the needs of exchange students.
Despite the potential structural issues with the program, Bryn Mawr has great historical connections with Japanese universities. Hopefully Bryn Mawr and Keisen University will be able to develop and structure an exchange program that is mutually beneficial for both schools, and will continue to foster the relationship that already exists.
