Hi everyone! My name is Hana Springer, and I am a rising sophomore at the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University. I am majoring in international affairs with a regional concentration in Asia, and I am currently studying Mandarin. While I speak Japanese fairly well, there is still so much I need to work on, and I hope to have perfected my Japanese and mastered Chinese upon graduating. As a dance minor and a Presidential Scholar in the Arts for dance, I am also very active in the dance department at GW.

My interest in Japan-U.S. relations is the product of a lifetime of exposure to both Japanese and American culture. My mother is from Japan, and she began to teach me Japanese and all about Japanese culture ever since I was a young girl.  My dad is from New York, where he is the head of the Japan and Asia desks on the trading floor at Morgan Stanley. I have traveled to Japan several times throughout my life to visit my grandparents in Kyushu, and the older I get, the more I appreciate the cross-cultural perspectives I have gained from my family.

My experience with Asian culture has led to my interest in international affairs, especially between Japan, the U.S., and China: I hope to one day work in a field where I can help strengthen the Sino-Japanese-American relationship. I am fascinated by the way historical events and modern-day economic and political issues have shaped the relationship between these three countries, and I am extremely interested to see how the relationship between each of the countries will change as China continues to rise up in the international system. I am so excited about my next three weeks with Sojitz because I will have the opportunity to expand upon these interests and simultaneously learn how a Japanese trading company with a global outlook works.  I look forward to gaining new knowledge from an array of perspectives, stepping outside of my comfort zone, and experiencing new things that will ultimately help me pursue my goals.

よろしくおねがいします!