A personal account of the 2018 Daiwa Scholars Graduation in Tokyo

And there it came. At what would in normal circumstances already have been a busy time for Daiwa Scholars, with most of them moving homes, settling bills and having to say goodbye to friends made, far bigger problems in the world meant that for most of us, the Daiwa Scholars Graduation Ceremony became almost a side-show. Indeed, it was almost surreal to have a party thrown for oneself up a skyscraper when much of the world was on lock-down. That being said, the compact nature of the ceremony, which not even families nor the Foundation’s Director General Jason James could attend, did lend a rather intimate feel to the event. Rather than a celebration, the tone was more that of reminiscence with fellow scholars of the last 18 months. That the group of us have made lifelong friendships goes without saying, and throughout the event I could not help reminding myself that were it not for the Daiwa Scholarship, I would almost certainly never have come to Japan, had the experiences and met the people here that have changed my life.

 

Many thanks to  2018 Daiwa Scholar Vikram Jayaswal for providing this piece.