BHSU international student participates in Student Peace Exchange in Hawaii

Second from right, Black Hills State University student Chihiro Oseki, tourism and hospitality major from Japan, was selected for and participated in the Student Peace Exchange in Hawaii commemorating the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. l

Top row, far left, Black Hills State University student Chihiro Oseki, tourism and hospitality major from Japan, was selected for and participated in the Student Peace Exchange in Hawaii commemorating the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Pictured here, the mayors of Nagaoka, Japan and Honolulu, Hawaii hold the joint statements created by participants in the Exchange with support from American and Japanese WWII pilots.

Black Hills State University student Chihiro Oseki, tourism and hospitality major from Japan, was selected for and participated in the Student Peace Exchange in Hawaii commemorating the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. During the Exchange she examined war, culture and peace during a four-day trip to Honolulu.

Oseki says her tourism and hospitality major at BHSU prepared her for the experience, especially with regards to international perspectives of the leisure industry.

"From a tourism and hospitality perspective, I learned best practices in collaboration with international partners and in organizing large events," said Oseki.

The mission of The Student Peace Exchange Program in Honolulu is to help students learn about the history between Honolulu and Nagaoka, Japan from both points of view, as well as to deepen students' thoughts by discussing and determining what they can do to achieve everlasting peace.

During the Exchange, Oseki visited the Battleship Missouri Memorial and attended the Pearl Harbor 75th Commemoration along with The Blackened Canteen Symposium at the Pacific Aviation Museum. She had the opportunity of meeting Ms. Georgette Deemer, Deputy Managing Director at City and County of Honolulu. Oseki also attended a Global Study Dinner with guest speakers Dr. Hiroya Sugano, who started the Blackened Canteen Ceremony as a peace offering in 1972, and Jerry Yellin author of "The Blackened Canteen."

Oseki says the experience closely relates to her business administration-tourism and hospitality management major at BHSU. She noted that Pearl Harbor and Ground Zero in New York are both memorials of tragic events but also represent areas of interests for visitors and tourists.

"At the training sessions for the Exchange, we discussed the topic of historic sites and memorials, that they should not just be tourist destinations. As tourism professionals we should strive to protect them and not to harm the atmosphere," said Oseki.

Oseki says she wants people to visit historic sites and memorials to learn facts and as a reminder for humanity not to repeat the tragic history of times of war.

"As a tourism and hospitality management major, it's my job to find the way to celebrate a destination while also protecting and educating," said Oseki.