Japan-Palau Alumni Series: Vol.12 Ms. Kate Oiph

Ms. Kate Oiph is one of the successful alumni of the Japanese Government Scholarship offered by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) to bring Palauan students to further their education in Japan since 1982. She went to study in Japan under the Teacher Training Program scholarship from October 2009 to March 2011. She studied the Japanese language for four months at Tokushima University and continued to do her research studies in Biology and Science Education at Naruto University.     
 
She attended Maris Stella School in Palau and then went to Mt. Carmel High School in Saipan. After graduating from high school, she went to Chaminade University in Hawaii and then transferred to University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She came back to Palau and continued her studies online through Palau Community College’s online cohort with San Diego State University (SDSU) to obtain her bachelor’s degree. Ms.Oiph is currently pursuing her master’s degree through PACMED which is a program offered at PCC by the University of Hawaii.
 
The reason Ms. Oiph chose to study in Japan is that she understood and admired the Japanese work etiquette such as time management and the importance of being organized, and she wanted to work in that kind of environment. She completed her studies at Naruto University in 2011 and came back to Palau and worked as a teacher at Palau High School. Ms. Oiph then heard about the JET program, where people could work in Japan as Assistant Language Teachers, and this opportunity was offered through The Embassy of Japan. She applied and got accepted, so she went back to Japan and worked as an Assistant Language Teacher at Kawagoe Senior High School in Mie Prefecture. Usually the program offers a one year contract, but Ms. Oiph was able to extend her contract every year for four years. After completing her contract, she went to work at the Ministry of Finance in Palau. While working at the Ministry of Finance she was offered to work in Japan as an Assistant Language Teacher temporarily until they could find an English teacher. Ms. Oiph accepted the offer and worked at the YMCA school in Mie Prefecture for almost a year and then returned to Palau. Currently, Ms. Oiph works at Palau Community College’s Upward Bound program as a Science Coordinator providing tutoring support in math and science to high school students.
 
Ms. Oiph recalls the fun memories in Japan such as visiting Hiroshima, going to see the famous Awaodori festival in Tokushima, fruit picking tours, pounding mochi on New Year’s Day, tea ceremonies and the friendships that she made with the local community in Tokushima prefecture. She loves most Japanese food and is an enka music fan. Her favorite enka song is “Michizure” by Ms. Makimura Mieko. She would love to visit Japan again, especially Tokushima Prefecture.
 
She believes that Japan and Palau already have a strong relationship due to their historical and cultural ties as well as through the efforts of JICA volunteers and the increased opportunities to learn in Japan and continuing these efforts is what will help the relationship between our two countries go beyond the next 30 years.