Okisho’s alumni are active in various fields

In April, 1983, I was a 15-year-old country boy who was full of insecurity, entering an old gate of the newly-built Okinawa Shogaku High School, roaming around the school. I gradually came to have good friends and teachers, and got used to studying at the school. Practicing “study hard and enjoy wholeheartedly,” for three years, I was then able to go on to medical school at the University of the Ryukyus. Although I managed to become a doctor, my path to the goal was full of hardships. During that challenging period, all I remembered was faces of comrades. Even though I became an adult, I remember faces of several comrades despite not meeting them for a long time, saying to myself, “They are doing their best, I will do mine too!” I am now 52-years-old now and sometimes remember one teacher at Okinawa Shogaku. What he used to frequently say is “Write your thoughts in your own words!” The teacher threw that phrase at us whenever possible. I just thought that he was talking about how you can get a good score on the Japanese Language test of the National Center Test for University Admissions. Now I am at a responsible position in my job and anew realize it is important to communicate with colleagues by using “our own words.” A baseball team of Okinawa Shogaku was once again able to get into the National Baseball Tournament (Koushien) in the first year of Reiwa (2019). That once again reminded me of air of alma mater and faces of comrades. I am grateful for Okinawa Shogaku to provide these kinds of opportunities on so many occasions.

As a student from Miyakojima, like it was yesterday, I remember looking up at the school buildings on the hill on the day of the entrance ceremony feeling uneasy.
I immediately realized that it was unnecessary to worry about. The reason I decided to attend this school was because I was aiming for a medical school. The teachers had a wealth of knowledge that motivated me to study, and my classmates who worked hard together, all helped me to go to Tokyo Women's Medical University.
However, while I was frustrated many times during living in Tokyo and the days of medical training and lectures, I was able to pass the National Examination for Medical Practitioners, which was my dream.
My medical instructor first mentioned the phrase "Don't forget the feeling that you're learning from patients."
This is just the spirit of gratitude and unselfish service; which is the precept of our school.
Currently, as a doctor, I have the opportunity to convey many messages through the media, and what I learned my high school life — that is to say, "We will do what is expected of us without fear, disdain or over eagerness and act in the spirit of gratitude and unselfish service," is always helpful.

“Why don’t you take an entrance exam of Okinawa Shogauku, a preparatory school which was newly be created by Shogakuin?” I think these are the words that inspired me to knock at the door of the current Okinawa Shogaku High School. When asked, “Were you not worried?” I said that I felt thrilled rather than worried because I had already heard that Okinawa Shogaku High School was a school created by Mr. Masajiro Nashiro under whose command Shogakuin had established the reputation of a university preparatory school all around Okinawa’s educational community. Although talented students had tended to go to preparatory schools outside of Okinawa at that time, teachers at Okinawa Shogaku were full of spirit to make the new school a first-rate educational institution.
The consistent school policy at that time was to cultivate a “Strong Spirit” and “Humanity.” By launching new efforts such as making Okinawa traditional Karate compulsory, introducing Intercultural Exchange Programs and the International Baccalaureate program, Okinawa Shogaku has been developing as a leading school. In this dynamic educational environment, many students have been successful in going to colleges and have made themselves outstanding after their graduation by showing their potential to the fullest, which were cultivated in Okinawa Shogaku. As an alumnus of Okinawa Shogaku, I am proud of having learnt many things at this school.