By Noah Johnson

Finding a community while studying in a new country far from home can be overwhelming.

For Japanese international students studying at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, the challenges of college are only magnified by the 5,000-mile distance between Kearney and their home.

Enter the Japanese Association at Kearney (JAK). The student organization, currently in its 23rd year of operation, plays a critical role in providing support for the university’s 100-plus Japanese international students while spreading the country’s culture throughout the Kearney community.

Ryo Suzuki, senior director for the Nebraska Safety Center and college of business and technology at UNK and JAK adviser, said the student organization’s mission is twofold. Internally, the organization works to provide peer-to-peer support for its international students. That includes everything from helping students find jobs to offering transportation for groceries and flights home.

“Nebraska is thousands of miles away from home, so some students may feel isolated,” he said. “We’re organized in a way that our students always have someone to talk to. We’re always putting the experience and knowledge of all of our students into the organization for it to be shared.”

The organization also opens its doors for any student attending UNK who is interested in learning more about Japanese culture.

In addition to providing internal support for the university’s Japanese student population, JAK has developed a strong presence in the community since its founding over two decades ago.

Central to that presence is its annual Japanese Festival. The festival, which takes place between February and March each year, offers attendees a unique opportunity to appreciate Japanese culture in the heart of Nebraska.

The festival includes traditional Japanese cuisine, musical and dance performances as well as other engaging activities. Each year, the festival draws anywhere between 500 to 600 visitors from all across Kearney.

The festival is free and open to the public. That means the generous gifts made toward JAK for One Day for UNK and beyond play a critical role in keeping this tradition alive. Specifically, Suzuki said the additional funding helps provide lunches, water and other resources to volunteers during the festival.

“This is a volunteer-led event,” he said. “They don’t receive any extra credit for this. They do it for the good of their heart.”

For Suzuki, the continued success of the Japanese Festival is representative of the impact JAK has had on his students, UNK and the greater Kearney community. Thanks to the continued support of donors and the UNK community, students in JAK have found a second home where they can shine.

“Our donors’ gifts created this opportunity where our students can be the spotlight,” Suzuki said. “Sometimes they are shy, but when they’re singing and dancing at this festival, it is because they let them shine. They’re literally investing in the future of this community.”