UNO Magazine: 40 Years of Friendship

The following story appeared in the most recent issue of the UNO Magazine, which highlighted stories about familal bonds - both biological and by choice.

See more stories from the Summer 2020 issue of the UNO Magazine.

Read the full magazine online as a Flipbook or download a PDF.

Among the lessons to emerge from the first half of 2020 is the reality of how connected we are globally and how dependent we are on community to help us through tough times.

Such bonds — no matter distance or time — are what makes sister city and sister university partnerships so vital.

At UNO, such ties took root four decades ago when the city of Omaha formed a bond with the coastal city of Shizuoka, Japan.

At first glance, the differences between Omaha and Shizuoka may seem numerous, with Omaha claiming the title of “Silicon Prairie” while Shizuoka’s claim to fame is as the matcha (green tea) capital of the world.

Yet, these two cities — and the universities that carry their namesakes — are bound by a decades—old familial bond. It is a relationship that has endured through 40 years, 13 chancellors/presidents, and more than 2,000 students exchanged between the two campuses.

In October 2019, representatives from UNO, including Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., traveled to Shizuoka to celebrate the 40th anniversary of UNO’s partnership with Shizuoka University and the role each campus has played in the lives of thousands of students, faculty and staff.

For six days, representatives celebrated all that had been accomplished while looking forward to coming opportunities.

“Henry Kissinger said that the most important thing we can do to expand our global partnerships is person—to—person diplomacy — rather than work being done between governments,” Gold says. “That is what I see us doing here.”

And as with all good diplomacy, work has recently been done on both sides.

In late 2018, Shizuoka University President Kiyoshi Ishii traveled to Omaha and UNO to speak about the partnership between the two campuses and why it means so much to him.

“I have heard many warm stories of students who came to Shizuoka, found jobs in Shizuoka — or other Japanese areas — and have gotten partners, so now there are many families between Japanese students and UNO students,” Ishii said during his visit. “So it is not just student exchanges; it is expanding into new industry and new families.”

While culture shock is certainly common among any international exchange, students from Shizuoka visiting Omaha and UNO visiting Shizuoka have often found that they are all part of the same Maverick family. And, like many family reunions, the 40th anniversary of UNO and Shizuoka University’s longstanding partnership served as a reflection and celebration on the importance of cross—cultural understanding.

From the Big O to Tokyo

During a chilly night in October the streets of Tokyo served as the backdrop for a celebratory showcase of generations of UNO students and alumni living in Japan.

As the first official stop on the 40th anniversary tour, UNO hosted an intimate celebration featuring dozens of alumni who traveled to UNO from Japan as far back as the 1970s — as well as recent UNO alumni, like Tarron Stewart, who graduated in May 2019 and immediately took a position with the Shizuoka City Board of Education through the JET (Japanese Exchange and Teaching) program.

“Exchange programs are a big part of diplomacy. They don’t make it a secret when you do your (JET) orientation that you are a part of this diplomatic relationship between these two countries.”

With a wealth of food and stories to share, the roughly 40 alumni and visitors from UNO used up every minute — and even carried the conversation into the streets late at night, their Maverick spirits shining as brightly as the city’s famous neon lights.

A Meal Fit for a Shogun

Coming together to break bread is a universal concept across cultures, and in Japan it is no different — except for perhaps the view.

To welcome UNO’s delegation to Shizuoka, representatives from Shizuoka University, including President Ishii, met for a dinner at Fugetso Ro, the former residence of the last Tokugawa Shogunate, who retired to Shizuoka following the rise of the Japanese empire.

The meal was a true traditional Japanese feast — complete with a variety of fish, mussels, red bean paste, egg custard and even octopus (which took some getting used to for several of those in attendance).

Spirits were raised with the after-meal’s traditional toast — KAMPAI! — to new friends and old. The experience was appropriately supplemented by stunning views of the former Shogun’s garden, where special guests and dignitaries were hosted many decades ago, opening the door to new relationships and opportunities, like the two universities have done for their students.

“Japanese students tend to avoid active relationships with foreign universities,” Ishii says. “I need to expose our students to more diverse situations in foreign countries, and so this exchange program, where we send quite a few students to UNO, is very good experience for our students.”

Welcome to Our Campus, Otherwise Known as Shizuoka City

Much like the iconic Mt. Fuji that towers to the northeast of the city, Shizuoka University’s main campus towers over its namesake with gorgeous views of a thriving metropolis to one side and Suruga Bay flowing in to the Pacific Ocean on the other.

Thousands of students have traveled between UNO and Shizuoka University since 1979. Two of the most recent to travel from Omaha to Shizuoka are sophomore Lucas Kolb and junior Conner Smith, both from Omaha. The duo arrived in Shizuoka last September, hitting the ground running by making friends, exploring parts of the city and digging into their coursework.

“It’s been wonderful,” Smith says. “Thanks to Friends of Japan at UNO, I’ve already made a lot of connections already, so in getting here, everyone welcomed me with open arms. They’ve taken me around the city, they’ve taken me to do all sorts of things.”

Though the pair ultimately had their time abroad cut short because of the pandemic, both had the opportunity to bond with students from across the world and bring back a broadened scope of the different ways the world is connected.

A Sister University’s Sister Campus

Junior Cassie Miller from York, Nebraska, and senior Mason Fleming from Lincoln are two other members of UNO’s most recent group to study abroad in Japan. Both, though, took their courses at Shizuoka University’s Hamamatsu Campus, serving as the home for all things science and engineering.

For these two students, a trip between the Dodge and Scott campuses in Omaha may take 15 minutes by shuttle. At Shizuoka University, the journey involves a bullet train and lasts nearly two hours.

Fortunately Miller and Fleming had on-campus housing during their stay, allowing them to get to classes quickly. Additionally, as the largest city in the Shizuoka prefecture, there is plenty to do across the city and there is easy access from the campus to grocery stores, restaurants, a pharmacy and more.

While the campus itself is made up of similar-looking cement buildings, it’s the variety of experiences throughout the city that left a lasting impression.

40 Years in the Making

The culmination of decades of international friendship could be seen — and heard — on the night of Oct. 31, 2019, when representatives from UNO and Shizuoka University formally marked the 40th anniversary of the partnership between the two schools.

Dressed in long robes, seven Shizuoka University students shook the walls as they performed Shumei Taiko — a traditional Japanese drum performance used to commemorate special occasions. And the occasion was a special one indeed.

Chancellor Gold and President Ishii joined guests in attendance in reflecting on all the partnership had accomplished — and all it had left to do.

“This relationships truly took what we in Nebraska would call ‘Maverick Spirit’ — roughly translated to tenacity, daring, hard work — or just plain grit,” Gold told the crowd of approximately 70 representatives from UNO and Shizuoka University, including generations of alumni from both campuses.

One of the evening’s presenters was Hilary Richards, who studied abroad at UNO while earning her degree at Shizuoka University in 2018. Today, Richards works for a travel company helping organize international group travel for schools and businesses.

“My major was English education, and so I focused on studying mostly about language itself,” she says. “However, after I went to UNO I took classes in geography, religion, sociology and public health. The information was very new for me and my viewpoint got wider — so my perspective became more global.”

It was also a special anniversary for Lori Arias, associate director of international advising at UNO, who studied at UNO and was the first student to travel to Shizuoka as part of the sister university exchange program.

Arias was surprised by students from Shizuoka University with a bouquet of flowers for her years of commitment to the partnership.

“It had a huge impact on my life and my work,” Arias says. “I tell students if they are considering going that you must go; you must find a way.”

Itan—sha Kazoku (A Maverick Family)

UNO’s legacy in Shizuoka goes well beyond the exchange program. It has also led to students originally from Nebraska establishing new roots — and relationships — half a world away.

Jesse Kline was a 2011 graduate who came to Shizuoka University on a scholarship in 2009 just after the Great Earthquake struck. It was his first experience living abroad and living alone — but he says the experience helped shape him into the adult he is today. He lives and works in Shizuoka as one of the many UNO alumni who built a career and is now raising a family far from their home country.

“Looking back, I was immature in many ways, but learning to balance studies with personal life while budgeting my monthly stipend proved to be a tremendous experience that would shape me into who I am today,” Kline says.

Traveling to Japan was also a turning point for Justin Romsa, a Grand Island native who graduated from UNO in 2006 and today leads a development team for Amazon in Osaka, Japan. He spent a year abroad in Japan while at UNO through a scholarship allowing him to be part of the UNO—Shizuoka University exchange program.

“That experience was a really big turning point in my life because it made me realize that I really enjoyed adapting to other cultures and mixing with other people,” Romsa says. “It was also a great opportunity for me to learn about my own culture.”

That same sentiment is what drew Pam Jewell, who traveled to Japan as an exchange student in 1992, back to Shizuoka as a graphic designer. She now works for AOI Brewing, Shizuoka’s first craft beer brewery. Jewell has lived in Japan for more than 20 years, now with a husband and two cats.

“I often joke that the reason I live in Shizuoka is because of the food and drink, but it truly is the real personal connections that has kept me happy here,” Jewell says. “I have been privileged to work with and become friends with many talented and passionate people.”

Konnichiwa, Nebraska

Despite campuses and communities thousands of miles apart, Chancellor Gold and President Ishii agree that there are more similarities than differences between the two universities and there is no reason to think the partnership won’t last another 40 years.

Helping keep the sister university relationship alive each year is a small group of Shizuoka University students who spend two weeks in August exploring UNO, Omaha and the Midwest to get a taste of what the full exchange program experience can offer.

While this year’s plans are on hold due to COVID-19, it won’t be long before Shizuoka University students are back in the Big O, trading the beaches, green tea fields and nature preserves of their home country for the Sandhills, Omaha Steaks and Henry Doorly Zoo.

Reiko Take Loukota, an instructor in Japanese at UNO, has led the trip for the last two decades. For her, the experience is a way to highlight the similarities across both cultures.

“At the end of the day we share much more in common than we sometimes realize. No matter whether they start in Shizuoka or Omaha, our students are building important skills and relationships that will be vital for all of us - politically, economically and geographically.”

But, Shingo Miyano, a Shizuoka University student who visited Omaha last summer put it, the experience is one that can be summarized with a sentiment that needs to translation:

“I had a really fun time.”

Other UNO Sister University Relationships

Sister Shizuoka has siblings. Here’s a brief look at UNO’s other sister universities.

Siauliai, Lithuania

Located in northern Lithuania, Siauliai joined Omaha as a sister city in 1996 and has had a strong partnership with UNO ever since. In fact, the two universities regularly exchange the other’s music programs for performances. In 2016, UNO faculty and students spent a week in Lithuania and Latvia celebrating the 20th anniversary of the sister city relationship with Omaha. This included a performance by the UNO Jazz Ensemble, which performed a concert for guests at the United States Embassy in Lithuania.

Braunschweig, Germany

Officially established as an Omaha Sister City in 1992, Braunschweig has been a strong partner with the College of Information Science & Technology since its formation in 2000. As information technology has become a global industry, bringing the world together to provide expertise in areas such as cybersecurity, IT innovation and analytics has allowed UNO to become a leader in a rapidly expanding field.

Xalapa, Mexico

Joining as a sister city for Omaha in 2005, the partnership with Xalapa has just recently began making an impact on the UNO campus. In 2019, Guadalupe Sanchez Salazar, the Mexican Consul in Omaha, and Omar Torres Fernández, dean of international business at UNO’s sister university, Universidad Anáhuac Xalapa, visited UNO and discussed the many opportunities taking place. That includes expanded economic development partnerships through UNO and the Omaha Chamber of Commerce.