After graduating from Sophia University in 2009, I moved to the US to pursue an MBA at Yale School of Management. I am currently in a three-program called the Silver Scholar Program, which provides an opportunity for college seniors to enter an MBA program right after graduation. I spent the first year at Yale School of Management taking “core course” classes to hone my basic business skills. At Yale, many classes are taught from the perspectives of different stakeholders whom business managers have to interact with and understand. Since I had already taken several business classes during my time at Sophia, I already knew the content taught in some classes and could concentrate on gaining new skill sets. Silver Scholars spend the second year of the program doing internships to apply business skills and concepts learned in the first year. I spent the first three months working at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in the New York office specializing in Tax Services for Japanese Businesses in the US. During my time at PwC, I found my experience of studying at Sophia to be extremely helpful. My position at PwC required a deep understanding of businesses from both Japanese and Western perspectives as many clients were Japanese companies operating in the US. Because many of the business classes taught at Sophia focus on cultural context, I was able to leverage what I had learned at Sophia to better serve the clients.
After my internship at PwC, I worked at The Nielsen Company for several months. I went through a rotational program within the company and provided consulting services in the areas of new product innovation and marketing mix to large consumer packaged goods companies. As a consultant, my job required strong presentation skills. Having taken the Public Speaking class at Sophia greatly helped me when making presentations. I remembered the feedback received from my classmates at Sophia and tried to incorporate it into my presentations. Furthermore, since I was in the Analytic Consulting department, a good understanding of Statistics was required. I found the Statistic classes I’d taken at Sophia to be very useful, teaching me to not only understand the subject’s technical side but also the significance of statistical findings. These were exactly the skills required for my position at Nielsen.
After completing one year of internships, I returned to Yale School of Management to compete my MBA degree. On top of the business classes I am taking to further expand my business skill set, I am also working on an independent consulting project for VISA.
Looking back at the two years I spent at Sophia, I am grateful for many of the opportunities that were given to me both inside and outside of classes. I believe the Core Program allows students to acquire important basic skill sets required to be successful in any industry. I personally found the Public Speaking Class to be very useful, training to be more effective communicators. Moreover, I found many of the business classes at Sophia to be extremely useful and the knowledge gained there allowed me to differentiate myself, helping me to provide unique perspectives that add value to the organizations I am now a part of. In particular, I found Economic Statistics class and Corporate Strategy class to be very helpful at Yale School of Management and at work. As national economies become more interconnected, businesses are becoming more and more complex. It is becoming critical for companies to understand how to spend money effectively and manage scarce resources. Because of this, analytical skills are becoming even more important to companies. I believe many of the Statistics classes at Sophia, especially Economic Statistics, help students gain the analytical skills that many companies look for in their workers.
I had a very rewarding two years at Sophia. I believe the FLA, with its culturally diverse professional and student body, and a curriculum that focuses on understanding cultural context, is a place filled with learning opportunities. I would encourage students to take full advantage of this unique and rich environment.

Kayo Osaka, ’09 Completed two years of study at University of British Columbia, majoring in International Relations, and worked at Procter & Gamble for one and a half years before entering Sophia University as a transfer student.