By:  Kaitlyn Ho, GVJCI Programs & Events Intern

​For many, volunteering has been a way to reconnect with the community. One volunteer, Eric Nakamura, has been a shining example of this. Eric’s brother-in-law and niece grew up in Gardena and have been involved in the Japanese American community here, which is how he’s found out about volunteering at GVJCI. He’s been volunteering at the GVJCI for around a month, working once a week to help prepare for the White Elephant booth by organizing with donors, sorting and storing through the various donations, while also helping with various other tasks. He found fellow volunteers and GVJCI members “very friendly…they really joke around so it’s really nice, it’s a nice community”. Eric is also most looking forward to how the inner workings will come together for Matsuri this year. 
Another new volunteer who shares the same sentiment is Alexandra Matsuda. Coming from Peru, she hasn’t had much connection to the Japanese American community, but had a lot of connection to Japanese Peruvians back home and wanted to compare and experience the differences in culture. Volunteering has been hard work, including deep cleaning of all kitchen utensils and pots, and creating big batches of somen dressing and teriyaki sauce. While the work she and the other volunteers have been putting in has been intensive, Alex talks about how both staff and fellow volunteers keep it lighthearted: “The environment is really nice, everyone’s really chill with each other…people can work and chill at the same time, there’s no pressure”. 

By: Celeste Koyama, GVJCI Marketing & Social Media Intern

Growing up as a yonsei (fourth-generation Japanese American) in Honolulu, Hawaii, I was surrounded by diversity and had a pretty strong connection to my Japanese heritage. My grandfather was the President of the Kumamoto Kenjinkai, and for a few years, my family was on the Board for the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii (JCCH). However, as we grew older, our family participated in these organizations less and less. As a result, I started to become disinterested and disconnected from Japanese culture, as many of the other interns felt. But once I attended critical race theory classes at LMU, I found a renewed interest in my Japanese heritage. That’s why when my brother, who currently lives in Gardena, told me about an internship opportunity at GVJCI, I felt that this was the perfect opportunity not only to gain experience but also to reconnect with my heritage. 

It was truly an amazing experience working here at GVJCI. Up until this internship, I had only gotten a taste of the rich history and culture of the Asian and Nikkei community here in the South Bay area. This internship taught me so much about what it means to be a part of an organization that is truly passionate about serving its community and strengthening its bond with others. Everyone at GVJCI was so welcoming and friendly that it reminded me a lot of home in Hawaii. I was aware of the large Japanese-Hawaiian population in Gardena/Torrance, but it wasn’t until Matsuri that I experienced it first-hand. It was comforting to know that almost everyone I met had grown up in Hawaii or had family and friends there. As the others have mentioned, the Matsuri Bento-To-Go Fundraiser in June was the first time that all the interns could meet in-person after mostly working remotely. After reaching our goal of 1,200 bento pre-orders a week earlier than our deadline, it was amazing to see everything finally come together. Although we weren’t able to hold the full-fledged Matsuri due to COVID-19 concerns, I enjoyed listening to everyone’s favorite moments of Matsuri. This reminded me a lot of when my family volunteered at JCCH’s annual ‘Ohana Festival, which is a similar event with games, performances, and food. Knowing how hard the staff at GVJCI works to prepare for this event every year, I’m excited to come back in the future and see what Matsuri is like in full-swing. 

One of my favorite parts of this internship was Tanoshii Fun Camp. This was my first time working with children, so I didn’t know what to expect at first, but it turned out to be really fun!  The counselors and other interns were awesome to work with and the children were really energetic. My favorite memory from camp was the paper mache Pikachu activity, where you could really see everyone’s creative talents. While some made Pikachus, others decided to make foxes, unicorns, and other Pokémon. It was amazing to see them come out of their shells as the days went by, and it seemed like they enjoyed all of our activities.

You also may have noticed that the homepage and navigation menu for our website has a fresh new look! While at GVJCI, I noticed that some people, especially seniors, had trouble navigating our website. Since I had some experience with website design, I wanted to make their experience easier, and proposed that I redesign the home page and navigation. Originally, I had planned to make small changes to the website, but after learning of the frustrations people had, I realized there was much more we needed to change. I was nervous because the home page is often the most visited page on a website, so the changes I made were critical in telling GVJCI’s story.  Thankfully, everyone was supportive and excited for the changes I planned to make. As we had a limited budget and only two weeks before the end of my internship, I learned to problem-solve, stay organized, and work efficiently. After extensive research and collaboration with Stephanie and Cathy, I was able to complete everything in time, and I am glad that I could use my skills to create a positive impact within this community. This has also sparked my passion for UX/UI design, and I have decided to pursue it as a career! 
The past three months have flown by, and I sincerely thank GVJCI for an amazing experience this summer. GVJCI truly lives up to its mission to create a space to engage, share, and embrace the Nikkei experience, as they have done for me and many others. 

By: Joshua Yamane, Social Media and Marketing Intern
​
Hello everyone! I’m Joshua Yamane and for the past three months, I have served as one of the social media and marketing interns. I first heard about the internship from my grandmother. She sent an email which surprised me because every time I saw her with a phone, she was asking someone for help. I opened the email and read through the details of the job. To my surprise, the internship was at JCI, a familiar location since I visited often for F.O.R basketball and Sansei baseball pictures. I also happened to live about five minutes away from the facilities so I passed by frequently and came for the GVJCI carnival to get the Okinawan donuts. So, hoping I would get a chance to work at such a familiar place I sent in my application and hoped for the best. To my joy and grandmother’s, I managed to get the position.

Now, what does the story about getting the internship mean? The story represents everything that GVJCI stands for and its mission. They have smartphone classes to teach the seniors how to use their phones; seniors like my grandmother. JCI’s mission is to spread the Nikkei experience and culture. Respecting and aiding elders certainly falls into that category as Japanese culture prides itself on taking care of its seniors. Being a gosei or fifth-generation Japanese-American, I only have a faint trace of my rich Japanese heritage. I cannot speak or understand Japanese. I am not particularly fond of adzuki beans, sashimi, or ume which are obviously extremely popular in Japanese cuisine. The disconnect I felt with my culture always saddened me as I wanted to proudly say I am Japanese. I was always a little envious of those who had parents or family members that spoke their native language and had strong cultural ties.

Despite my disjointed connection, the internship really helped me understand my Japanese culture and embrace it. My responsibilities included managing the social media of GVJCI, creating flyers for programs, and generating new creative ideas to increase engagement with followers. I worked entirely remotely for the first part of my internship so I could not see the fruits of my labor until the Matsuri fundraiser. Because I could not see the results of my work, I found the initial portion of the internship difficult and tedious. I could not come up with original captivating designs. With the copyright rules and proper diction that needed to be followed, the job seemed much more rigorous than I initially thought. However, thanks to the trust and feedback I constantly received from Stephanie and Cathy, they guided me and I would like to think I got the hang of it.

Everything finally started to piece together at Matsuri. Walking into the office for the first time, meeting all the staff members, and setting up the tents validated the work I was doing. On the day of Matsuri, I along with two other interns Celeste and Noah put up stories and took pictures and videos of the event. Actually obtaining the pictures that would later be used was also a ton of fun because I could fashion the photos how I wanted them. Seeing so many people come out and enjoy all the hard work that was put in was indescribably gratifying. 

​After Matsuri, there was around a month until the next major event; the Tanoshii Fun Camp. This was by far one of my favorite experiences as an intern. The kids were so much fun to be around and definitely made the early mornings worth it. The work felt so rewarding as I knew I was giving back to the same Japanese-American community that I was raised in.

As a business economics major, learning how to market and network is crucial to success. I had no experience with social media or marketing outside of social media use in my personal life. Thankfully, GVJCI accepted me with open arms and mentored me. Learning how to effectively relay a message clearly and concisely through social media platforms taught me so much about factors I hadn’t even considered. I don’t know what I envisioned the internship would look like, however it was so much more and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

By: Joshua Yamane, Social Media and Marketing Intern
Hello everyone! I’m Joshua Yamane and for the past three months, I have served as one of the social media and marketing interns. I first heard about the internship from my grandmother. She sent an email which surprised me because every time I saw her with a phone, she was asking someone for help. I opened the email and read through the details of the job. To my surprise, the internship was at GVJCI, a familiar location since I visited often for F.O.R basketball and Sansei baseball pictures. I also happened to live about five minutes away from the facilities so I passed by frequently and came for the GVJCI carnival to get the Okinawan donuts. So, hoping I would get a chance to work at such a familiar place I sent in my application and hoped for the best. To my joy and grandmother’s, I managed to get the position.

Now, what does the story about getting the internship mean? The story represents everything that GVJCI stands for and its mission. They have smartphone classes to teach the seniors how to use their phones; seniors like my grandmother. JCI’s mission is to spread the Nikkei experience and culture. Respecting and aiding elders certainly falls into that category as Japanese culture prides itself on taking care of its seniors. Being a gosei or fifth-generation Japanese-American, I only have a faint trace of my rich Japanese heritage. I cannot speak or understand Japanese. I am not particularly fond of adzuki beans, sashimi, or ume which are obviously extremely popular in Japanese cuisine. The disconnect I felt with my culture always saddened me as I wanted to proudly say I am Japanese. I was always a little envious of those who had parents or family members that spoke their native language and had strong cultural ties.

Despite my disjointed connection, the internship really helped me understand my Japanese culture and embrace it. My responsibilities included managing the social media of GVJCI, creating flyers for programs, and generating new creative ideas to increase engagement with followers. I worked entirely remotely for the first part of my internship so I could not see the fruits of my labor until the Matsuri fundraiser. Because I could not see the results of my work, I found the initial portion of the internship difficult and tedious. I could not come up with original captivating designs. With the copyright rules and proper diction that needed to be followed, the job seemed much more rigorous than I initially thought. However, thanks to the trust and feedback I constantly received from Stephanie and Cathy, they guided me and I would like to think I got the hang of it.

Everything finally started to piece together at Matsuri. Walking into the office for the first time, meeting all the staff members, and setting up the tents validated the work I was doing. On the day of Matsuri, I along with two other interns Celeste and Noah put up stories and took pictures and videos of the event. Actually obtaining the pictures that would later be used was also a ton of fun because I could fashion the photos how I wanted them. Seeing so many people come out and enjoy all the hard work that was put in was indescribably gratifying. 
After Matsuri, there was around a month until the next major event; the Tanoshii Fun Camp. This was by far one of my favorite experiences as an intern. The kids were so much fun to be around and definitely made the early mornings worth it. The work felt so rewarding as I knew I was giving back to the same Japanese-American community that I was raised in.
 
As a business economics major, learning how to market and network is crucial to success. I had no experience with social media or marketing outside of social media use in my personal life. Thankfully, GVJCI accepted me with open arms and mentored me. Learning how to effectively relay a message clearly and concisely through social media platforms taught me so much about factors I hadn’t even considered. I don’t know what I envisioned the internship would look like, however it was so much more and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.