Hello. I hope by the time you read this it has cooled down here in Tokyo as this summer has been especially brutal!
My name is Carol Iwanaga and I am from Sun Valley, Idaho, U.S.A., although I have actually spent my entire adult life here in Japan and live in Yokohama. I first came to Japan in my second year of university. My husband, Susumu, and I have been married for 31 years now and our son, Hideo, is 28 already!
I work for a Japanese company that operates several channels on satellite and cable television. My job is to acquire programs from abroad for their music channel, as well as working as a coordinator for a translation and narration agency. My late father worked in the television industry so I enjoy carrying on his legacy somewhat.
In my spare time I enjoy reading, watching movies, going to the gym, and skiing in the winter. I am lucky to be able to spend my summers in my hometown in Idaho in order to get away from the heat and humidity of Tokyo. It is also nice to be able to spend time with my elderly mother when I am there.
I am presently in my second year as Director of Community Service (formerly Education) and in the past I have been Director of Communications as well as Scholarship co-chair, eNews editor, Scholarship committee coordinator, among others. It has been a great privilege to serve on the CWAJ board and I hope that I have been able to make a difference in our organization.
I believe I got involved with CWAJ in 2016 because I know several members that are also in AFWJ (foreign wives of Japanese) and they encouraged me to join. I have really enjoyed being a member and meeting all of the different people involved with the organization. I am especially inspired by all of our scholars and their accomplishments. Right now I am working on the VVI Anniversary Concert which will take place on November 6. The main performer will be our SVI scholar alum, pianist Rika Sugata. She is incredible and I hope that many of you will attend the concert (and bring your family and friends) as it will be a very special event, one of the highlights of the VVI 50th anniversary celebrations this year. We also had the Life is Climbing movie screening and talk event about the visually impaired mountain climber and his guide. This was back in April and it was a great success, thanks to Joanna Chinen who spearheaded the committee and everyone that helped out.
Last year I was asked to be the interviewer for the NJG scholarship interviews for the first time. At first I was really nervous about it and wasn’t sure if I was the right person to be doing it but I ended up enjoying the role and learning about each of the candidates. Also, doing something like this outside of my comfort zone gave me a chance to realize there are things I can do that I didn’t think I could. CWAJ has given me many opportunities like this and I am very grateful for that. It is always good to learn and try new things at any age! I hope my experience will encourage all CWAJ members to try to do something just a little bit different from what they are used to. You may find you enjoy it, as well!
I look forward to hopefully getting involved in other areas in CWAJ and learning new things as well as getting to know more members.
