| ご卒業おめでとうございます。保護者の皆様にも心からお祝い申しあげます。 また、ラスベガス学園のために多くのご協力とご支援をいただきましたことに 心からお礼申しあげます。卒業生の皆さん、ここに、ジグソーパズルがあります。皆さんが今まで歩んできた、そしてこれから歩んで行く人生を、このジグソーパズルにたとえてみましょう。 この箱の中には1000ピース入っています。箱の絵を見るととても美しいのですが、一つ一つのピースを見ると、きれいな色のピースもあれば、そうでないものもあります。 ラスベガス学園での経験も、美しいピースもあれば、そうではないピースもあったでしょう。運動会や豆まき、ベークセールなどの楽しい行事。国語チャレンジや国語クイズに、ご褒美交換。漢字検定や数学検定、国際部ではNJE(National Japanese Examination)への挑戦もありました。ラスベガス学園で出逢ったお友達は、一生の宝になることでしょう。たくさんの美しいピースがあります。 しかし、毎週土曜日、ラスベガス学園に来ることは決して簡単なことではなかったでしょう。幼稚部から中学３年まで通うと、４８０回もの土曜日をここで過ごしたことになります。毎週の土曜日すべてが、美しいパズルのピースというわけではありません。暗くどんよりしたピースもあったはずです。宿題もたくさんありました。ラスベガス学園に来るために、他のなにかを諦めたこともあるでしょう。 でも、すべてのピースを組み合わせて、１枚の絵が完成すると、実は暗いピースも、大切な役割を果たしていることがわかります。そういうピースがないと、美しい絵は完成できなかったのです。それがないと、穴だらけで、なんの絵かわからないものになっていたことでしょう。 みなさんにとって、なにかをやっているときは、なぜこんなことをやらなければいけないのか、と思うことがあるはずです。でも、もしかすると、それは将来、もっともっと大きなことに役立つための準備をしているのかもしれません。 自分のためだけで終わるのではなく、他の人の希望につながるのです。 皆さんを見て、ラスベガス学園の後輩達は、自分たちも頑張れば、皆さんのようになれるんだという希望と憧れを、いま感じているでしょう。皆さんは、後輩達にとってのロールモデルです。ヒーローです。 私は日本で大学を受験する生徒を教えていました。その中に亜里香（ありか）さんという生徒がいました。彼女は、高校に通っていたときは、いつも遅刻をし、提出物もきちんとださなかったそうです。そんなこともあり希望の大学には入ることができず、私の学校に来て、もう１年、準備することになりました。そのとき、亜里香さんは決めたそうです。これからは絶対に遅刻をしない。提出物はきちんと期限までに出す。最後まで諦めない。ここで私は変わるんだ、と。彼女のコミットメントです。 それから1年、亜里香さんは諦めずに頑張りました。彼女は大きく変わりました。最初は自信がなくうつむきがちだったのに、１年後には、思い切って海外の大学で学びたいと言うほどになったのです。 私は彼女のために推薦状（recommendation letter）を書きました。私は亜里香さんが必ず成功すると確信していました。そして、なんと、アイルランド国立トリニティカレッジという、世界トップ１００に入る優秀な大学に合格したのです。日本からの留学生はドロップアウトする人の方が多いのですが、亜里香さんは見事に卒業し、今では日本政府の官房長官をはじめとする高官に政策の提言をするなどして活躍しています。 亜里香さんは、自分のために頑張ったのです。それは同時に、それは多くの人に希望を与えることになりました。亜里香さんを見て、ああいう人になりたいと、後輩達の心を動かしたのです。今までいっぱい失敗していたとしてもやり直せるということを、亜里香さんをみた多くの後輩が希望を持ったのです。なんとその後、私が教えていた４０人もの生徒がイギリスやアイルランドの国立大学に入学することになりました。 皆さんが今日まで頑張ってきたことは、あなた自身のためだけでおわるのではなく、多くの人にとって希望の光になります。 これが、皆さんがこれから歌う「仰げば尊し」の中にある 皆さんが生まれてくるとき、何ヶ月も前から、お父様やお母様が、楽しみにしていたのです。 どうして「光」なの、と聞いたら、ジョンフランソワは、この子は僕の人生に光を与えてくれた。僕にとっては光なんだ、と言いました。私は感動しました。 皆さんも、同じです。皆さんはご家族にとって輝く光です。 それだけではありません。これからは、どうぞ、世の中の光になってください。身を立て、名を上げ、世界の暗闇に光を照らす人になるのです。ここまで頑張ってきたあなた方ならきっとできるはずです。 卒業生の皆さん、希望の光を掲げて、新しい一歩を踏み出して下さい。 ラスベガス学園 理事長 中澤 一 |
Congratulations on your graduation. I would also like to extend my sincere congratulations to all of the parents and guardians. On behalf of the Board and Faculty, I deeply appreciate all the support we have received from you.
Dear graduates, here is a puzzle. Let’s compare the life you have led and will lead to this puzzle. There are 1,000 pieces in this box. When you look at the picture on the box, it is very beautiful, but when you look at each piece, some of the pieces are beautifully colored, and some are not. Your experience at Las Vegas Gakuen may be compared to some beautiful pieces and some not so beautiful pieces. Fun events such as Sports day, bean throwing ceremony, and bake sales. Reward exchanges for Japanese language challenges and quizzes. There were also challenges to the Kanji and Math examinations, and the National Japanese Examination (NJE) in the International Division. The friends you have met at Las Vegas Gakuen will be treasured for a lifetime. There are many beautiful pieces. However, coming to Las Vegas Gakuen every Saturday was not an easy task. If you attended from kindergarten through ninth grade, you would have spent 480 Saturdays here. Not every Saturday was a beautiful puzzle piece. There was also a lot of homework. You probably had to sacrifice some things to come to Las Vegas Gakuen. But when you put all the pieces together to complete a picture, you realize that those not so beautiful pieces actually play an important role. Without those pieces, a beautiful picture could not be completed. Without them, the picture would be full of holes and it would be hard to tell what it is. The same is true of your time at Las Vegas Gakuen. Your diploma is made up of many pieces, and it is proof that you did not give up until the end, and that you carefully put the many pieces together. It is a proof of your effort. Sometimes we may question why we have to do certain things, but they may be necessary preparations for something bigger in the future. Even if we don’t understand their significance at the time, we may later realize how they fit into the bigger picture. There is one more thing I want us to remember. What you have achieved by working hard for yourself will not only end for yourself, but will give hope to others. Younger students will look up to you with hope and longing, knowing that they too can achieve success through hard work. You are role models for them at Las Vegas Gakuen. You are heroes!* In Japan, for many years, I taught students who were applying to universities in Japan. One of them was a student named Arika**. When she was in high school, she was always late for class and did not submit her work properly. Because of this, she could not get into the university of her choice, so she came to my school to prepare for one more year. At that time, Arika made a decision. “From now on, I will never be late. I will turn in my work on time. I will not give up until the end. I will change.” She was committed. And for one year, Arika did her best without giving up. She changed a lot. At first, she lacked confidence and looked somehow depressed, but after a year, she even took the plunge and said she wanted to study at a university overseas. I wrote a recommendation letter for her. I witnessed that she kept the promise she made to herself. I was convinced that if she did not give up from now on, she would surely succeed. And, to my surprise, she was accepted to Trinity College, Ireland, one of the top 100 universities in the world. While most students from Japan drop out, Arika graduated with flying colors and is now active in the Japanese government, making policy recommendations to the Chief Cabinet Secretary and other high-ranking officials. Arika worked hard for herself. But at the same time, it has given hope to many people. She inspired the hearts of younger students to want to become someone like her. Seeing her gave hope to many juniors that they could start over, even if they had failed a lot in the past. To my surprise, 40 of the students I taught later went on to enter prestigious national universities in England and Ireland, following the footstep of Arika. What you have done so far is not only for your own sake, but will be a beacon of hope for many others. This, I believe, is a contemporary interpretation of the lyrics in the song “Aogeba Toutoshi” that you are about to sing: “ 身を立て（mi-o-tate, literally translated Stand up for yourselves), 名を上げ（na-wo-age, id. make a name for yourselves, and やよ励めよ（yayo-hagemeyo, id. encourage yourselves).” When you were born, your father and mother had been looking forward to your birth for many months. I have a French friend from college named John Francois. His child was born on Christmas Day, so he named the baby boy Noel in French. His Japanese name is Hikaru. The kanji is 光 (hikari meaning light). When I asked him why “Hikaru 光” was chosen, John François said, “This child has given light 光 to my life. He said, “He is the light 光 of my life.” I was moved. Just as your parents were waiting for your arrival, I believe that the world is waiting for you now. From now on, please be the light of the world. Stand up, make a name for yourself, and become a person who shines a light in the darkness of the world. I am sure that you who have worked so hard up to this point will be able to do so. Graduates, Beacons of Hope, go with joy and gratitude. Hajime Nakazawa, Chairman *hero: used as a gender-neutral word in this address as the word is also increasingly used to refer to a woman today. **Arika Matsui is currently a director and public relations specialist at PoliPoli, Inc., where she is in charge of PR strategies and policy advocacy for government agencies and foundations. Also she is working in the Japanese government, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications as the strategic PR advisor. In her previous position as a government public relations consultant, she was in charge of media coverage analysis, website improvement, SNS account management and content creation for the Prime Minister’s Office, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, JICA and other ministries and agencies. While working as a secretary to a Diet member, she also launched YouTube and other SNS channels and produced policy commentary videos and infographics. She is also involved in public relations for international conferences at G7 Youth Japan, a private organization to which she belongs. She holds a BA in Sociology from Trinity College, University of Dublin, Ireland. (https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/team/a/arika-matsui) |