UH Hilo sociology/English alum Johann Kuipers says student exchange was a major turning point in his life

“That year abroad set me on the path that eventually brought me to Japan and shaped both my career and the life I have today.”

By Susan Enright/UH Hilo Stories.

University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo sociology/English alumnus Johann Kuipers says his student exchange experience to New Zealand in the fall of 2015 was a major turning point for him.

“It opened my eyes to the possibility of living abroad long-term,” he says. “Looking back, that year abroad set me on the path that eventually brought me to Japan and shaped both my career and the life I have today.”

He’s now a human resources operations specialist in Tokyo and has developed a career in Japan.

Kuipers graduated from Hilo High School in 2012 and from UH Hilo in 2016. Along with his bachelor of arts in sociology, he also minored in English and earned a certificate in teaching English to speakers of other languages.

It turns out, equally important to his future as those credentials, was his student exchange experience that took him from Hilo to New Zealand and back again, sparking a lifelong love of traveling and living overseas.

“The experience pushed me out of my comfort zone”

Kuipers says he visited New Zealand once with my family when he was young and when he learned as an undergraduate that UH Hilo offered an exchange program in New Zealand, “it felt like a great opportunity to return and actually live there, study, and experience daily life in another country.”

So that’s what he did, studied in Hamilton, New Zealand, at the University of Waikato where he continued his coursework in sociology.

“Academically, studying abroad gave me a broader, more global perspective on social issues and helped me understand how sociological and political matters were perceived in New Zealand,” he says. “On a personal level, the experience pushed me out of my comfort zone. Over the long holiday break, I spent time working on local farms and traveling around the country. Looking back, the time I spent off campus exploring and meeting people is what really stuck with me.”

From an essay about his New Zealand student exchange experience that Kuipers wrote in the UH Hilo Study Abroad Newsletter (Fall 2015):

My favorite experience in New Zealand has definitely been my time traveling around in between classes. I spent around two months on south island during the summer. I hitchhiked around going to different places. I got to meet different people each with their own unique story. Each ride gave me a brief insight into a person’s life. The main activities I did while abroad were camping and hiking. I did a lot of this with the tramping club. From climbing snowcapped mountains to walking along beaches, New Zealand really has it all. Some of my favorite memories are doing these longs tramps with friends. I can see myself walking along hungry and underequipped. Thanks to some gear and food from my friends I managed to survive. There are so many memories with so many people that I will never forget.

Kuipers also found a strong support system from other exchange students at UW. “Living in the on-campus dormitories made a huge difference and was something I’m glad I decided to do,” he says.

He connected so strongly to the place and the people that it took him a little time to adjust when he returned home to UH Hilo to finish his degree.

“I really missed the friends and community I had built in New Zealand,” he says. “But once I settled back in, I was able to focus on finishing my last year of studies and graduating.”

And then, a strong interest in traveling and living overseas

As Kuipers finished up his degree, never far from his thoughts was the study abroad experience; he had developed a strong interest in traveling and living overseas, which ended up influencing his future path.

“After graduating from UH Hilo, I joined the JET Program and lived in Okinawa for three years, teaching English,” he says, referring to the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET) sponsored by the government of Japan. “After that, I moved to Tokyo and have been here since.”

He says Hawaiʻi and Okinawa have a very relaxed atmosphere, but Tokyo is much more fast-paced. “I’ve really settled in,” he says.

Story by Susan Enright, public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.