Maya Wagner
Education Abroad Public Health Perspectives: Japan
1. My STEP Signature Project was a two and half week journey throughout the country of Japan, learning the culture, through a public health perspective. The program explored all aspects of Japanese public health care which included nursing homes, hospitals, and daycares just to name a few. We also learned about how Japan has handled natural disasters, manmade disasters (bombing of Hiroshima), and large quantity of an elderly population.
2. Learning about Japanese public health was an amazing experience, but my biggest takeaway was the personal transformation I had experienced. My perspective on life through the exploration of such a unique culture, customs, and healthcare has fully changed for the better.
3. I am half-Japanese, and prior to this trip, I had never met my Japanese family. Due to a divorce my Japanese heritage was ripped from me at a very young age. This was my first time to Japan, as well as my first time meeting my biological father and the rest of my family. Along with this, it was my first time experiencing and engulfing myself in my other culture. I learned so much about myself and life through this adventure, which was a priceless experience that I owe to the STEP program for making this happen.
a. The STEP signature project helped me dive deeper into my culture. Learning the healthcare, hearing testimonies, and first-hand experiences of such a different country, developed connections in myself in a field that I am so passionate about. I plan on opening my own practice as a nurse practitioner and I will apply what I learned in Japan, for a better patient experience and overall practice.
b. Learning the facts and visiting the sites in Japan was life changing, but I benefitted most from the personal interactions with the Japanese college students. This was how I really became to understand the culture through these interactions. Conversing with Japanese students in such a similar place in our lives was an awesome connection to relate and compare our lives. We ate dinner together, laughed together, and learned so much from these experiences. I learned about the individuals but also so much about this world. We may be so different on the outside, but within we are all the same, and I think that is an awesome perspective many need to experience. We were all just college students, still learning about ourselves, what we want to do in this world, while having fun throughout the process. This shared aspect made many conversations easy because we have had a similar experience at this time in our lives.
c. Lastly, the relationships that I formed with the OSU students are ones that I will cherish forever. Experiencing a different culture with the amazing group of students as I was with, will always hold a lasting bond between us. This trip not only made this world feel a little bit smaller, but it also made OSU feel smaller as well. It’s important to get involved in a college that may seem overwhelmingly big at times, but through the two years I have been at OSU, I can say that it feels smaller and smaller everyday. Seeing familiar faces around campuses is a daily encounter that becomes more prevalent every year.
4. I already mentioned how this experience has changed my future plans but I will like to elaborate on it. Learning about the Japanese healthcare and actually being apart of it are two totally different things. I can definitely see myself working in a Japanese hospital for a few years, to gain more knowledge and expertise to bring back to the US. This is a dream but I would love to make it a reality and I would have never known I would have wanted to do this without STEP and without this life changing journey. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, STEP!
I documented my trip on Instagram! Check out #OSUSTEP to see my pictures @mayawagner1. I also documented my foodie experience on @foodies.gone.wild!