Leo J. Che, an AMB student from the US, was always interested in the
ocean, and especially in fish. When
asked if his career decision had something to do with his home town in
California, he not only agreed, but also told us about his other reasons. “I
used to go to Monterey Bay Aquarium, famous for its display of the bay, and my
father took me fishing from time to time.” Then he talked about the special topography
of Monterey Bay in California, where a large number of diverse marine organisms
exist. This had a tremendous impact on him, and helped him to choose marine
biology for his research.
However, there are more interesting and, in a way, unique reasons as
to why Leo came to Tohoku University. The first is that the ocean is shared by
many countries, meaning it would be advantageous if he can prepare to work internationally
in the future, considering his specialization in marine biology. The second is Fukushima.
“It is the first nuclear incident to have happened near the ocean. The Chernobyl
accident was not near the ocean, and no other previous nuclear event has occurred
on this scale. So it creates a unique opportunity to research things that we
otherwise might not be able to explore,” he said. In fact, the nuclear power
plant in Fukushima is about 100km from Sendai. Thus it is at far enough to
allow one to safely live in Sendai while still being able to meet and learn
from many professors in multiple faculties of Tohoku University who continue
working on themes related to the disaster of March 2011.
Although many FGL students are hard workers, Leo told us about prior
knowledge will definitely help prospective students in their studies. “Be strong
at mathematics,” he said with conviction. “You will be required to work with
numbers in different ways than you may expect. In addition, it may be difficult
for students who aren’t familiar with statistical concepts to understand
certain lectures. Some of the lessons seem to assume that you know something that
you might not necessarily know,” he advised.
One of the good things about Leo noted about the FGL program is
housing. All FGL students seeking bachelor degrees can live at University House
Sanjo for two years. While the kitchen has to be shared, each student is
allotted a private room. This is a clear difference from the US, where students
who live in dorms usually share rooms. “So it is very nice,” he says.