Tatsuo settles in at Fletcher

Today, I’m happy to introduce the first post from one of the new students who will report on their Fletcher experience in the Student Stories feature.  Tatsuo and I met last summer when he had recently arrived on campus, and I’m very excited to be able to highlight the experience of a student from Japan.  Fletcher benefits every year from the perspective of Japanese students, many of whom, like Tatsuo, have been sponsored by the organizations for which they work.  I’ll let Tatsuo supply the details.

TatsuoHello!  I am Tatsuo Sakai, a first-year MALD student.  I feel very happy to have the opportunity to share with you my future tough, but surely enjoyable, days at Fletcher, by posting in the Admissions blog.

My first-priority interest at Fletcher is international development.  I’d like to study theories and practical implications of development today.  I think there is a lot of room to pursue interdisciplinary work examining development studies for developing countries and regional development policies in well-developed countries.  I believe such integrated studies can contribute to both the less developed countries and to disadvantaged areas in well-developed countries.

Additionally, I am also interested in security studies.  As I will explain later, a position in homeland security is one of my future possible jobs.

Before Fletcher, I worked in the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism (MLIT), as a legal officer in three areas:

1) The city planning division
2) The international affairs office for Civil Aviation, and
3) The road administration division.

During my five years in MLIT, I worked on planning policies for reconstruction following the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011; negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and other economic partnership agreements; reform of public road policies, including the introduction of private funding into public infrastructure projects; and promoting disaster response capabilities.

As a ministry official who was assigned to study abroad with a Japanese government long-term fellowship, I had some options for my graduate studies, from the west coast to the east coast, and including public policy schools or design/planning schools.  Finally, I decided to study at Fletcher for three reasons.

1) Fletcher’s broad and flexible curriculum

I am a person who cannot narrow my interests into a certain area.  Thus, in my work, I was in charge of broad fields, from very domestic policy, such as city planning legislation, to global negotiations with foreign counterparts, for example for the TPP.  I may even be assigned to be a Coast Guard officer in the future.  I am curious about and able to enjoy everything I encounter.  In this, my first semester at Fletcher, I am taking four courses — Law and Development, Development Economics: Policy Analysis, Foundations in Financial Accounting and Corporate Finance, and Crisis Management and Complex Emergencies.  The classes are very diverse, from law to economics to security studies.  Fletcher has courses and professors with expertise in many different areas, and we can take any courses we want within the program’s flexible requirements.

2) The community

Fletcher is well known, even in Japan, for its strong community.  After other Japanese students and I received our admission decisions from Fletcher, one of Fletcher’s alumni, the Pakistani ambassador in Japan, held a welcome party at his official residence.  We met many alumni from various government sections and countries.  I also feel the strength of the Fletcher community as a student here.  It’s my first time living in a foreign country, but I enjoy and relax with friendly support from classmates, even in an unfamiliar environment and with a tough workload.  I surely believe that the tight bonds in the community will contribute to our success around the world.

3) Fletcher’s reputation in international affairs

As you know, Fletcher is the oldest graduate school for international relations in the world.  We have a lot of successful alumni who have built a great reputation for the School in the United Nations, World Bank, or other international organizations, and of course, governments and the private sector.  The reputation prevails even where I didn’t expect it.  When I traveled to a rural town in Montana this summer, I wore a sweatshirt with a Fletcher logo.  An old couple asked me, “Are you a Fletcher student?”  I said yes, and then, they said, “You can save the world!  Please do it!”  I was surprised and really proud at that moment.

I have nearly completed my second month at Fletcher.  I’m looking forward to experiencing many strange, curious, surprising, and enjoyable events during my two years.  I hope you will enjoy sharing my experience at Fletcher through my posts in the blog!

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