If you’re anything like me, you can’t imagine straying too far from the comfort of home. I admire foreign exchange students for not only straying far from home for their education, but having the courage to leave their home countries entirely. One of Morningside’s many foreign exchange students just so happens to be in my Journalism class; her name is Yuka Kotani.

Twenty-year-old Yuka is originally from Osaka, Japan, but decided to fly across the world to attend two semesters at Morningside College. Her decision to attend college here was fueled by her passion for Mass Communication with an emphasis in TV production (a major not offered at her university in Japan) and her drive to improve her English speaking skills. She started as a sophomore in January of this year and is now taking classes as a junior. During her last semester here at Morningside she hopes to learn more about American culture and meet new friends. She is looking forward to sharing her college experience with her friends and family once she returns to Japan.

When she’s not studying or in class, Yuka enjoys playing basketball, collecting cosmetics, and painting/decorating nails.

I hope Yuka is able to get everything she wants out of the Morningside College experience before she goes back to Japan at the end of this semester.