After a hiatus of four years due to COVID-19, the Ehime Summer Internship Program has been restarted this year.  The Center for Japanese Studies and the Japan-America Society of Hawaii selected two UHM students, Ms. Melody Matsumoto (undergraduate student, double majoring in Japanese and Asian Studies) and Mr. Marques Batoon (undergraduate student, double majoring in Japanese and Computer Science), to participate in this program.  They will make presentations about Hawaiʻi at schools and universities in Ehime and offer Hawaiʻi-related seminars to community groups, acting as goodwill cultural ambassadors.

Before leaving for Ehime, Melody and Marques paid their respects at the Ehime Memorial in Kakaʻako Waterfront Park on May 8, 2023.

Marques and Melody at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL), on their way to Matsuyama city.

They will work in the Ehime Prefectural International Center (EPIC) for the summer until the end of July. See their introductions on EPIC’s website update, May 18, 2023.