Alumni Return to SFC! — 2026 Shinohara Seminar Alumni Meeting

On July 12th, the Shinohara seminar had the wonderful opportunity to bring together both current students and alumni for a casual, engaging luncheon.

Each spring semester, we host this alumni luncheon to preserve seminar traditions and foster meaningful connections between our Japanese and GIGA students.

To kick off the day, a small group of students went shopping in the morning to gather the necessary ingredients for a communal cooking session. The impressive menu prepared by the students ranged from handmade gyoza to freshly assembled sushi rolls for everyone to enjoy!

The highlight of this preparation stage is how it encourages members from all corners of the seminar to collaborate. It provides a relaxed space for everyone to converse, enjoy each other's company, and reflect upon the achievements of the past semester.

After cooking all the food, we moved into introduction, interaction, and presentation time!

Because there was some new people that joined the seminar this semester, in the beginning, we had everyone introduce themselves to establish familiarity! We also had the opportunity to share about what we presented about this semester. Following the introductions, everyone was then able to simply enjoy the hard-earned meal they have prepared and engage with one another, enjoying a nice luncheon together! Towards the end, the Japanese students who just recently graduated the previous semester were able to share quick presentations to everyone! In these presentations, the students highlighted what they have been up to recently, and it was an amazing opportunity to see what everyone was up too!

We hope to continue this tradition for as long as possible, and make an Alumni meeting in which everyone can enjoy freely! We cannot wait to see everyone again soon!