Maria Hirabayashi

During Undergrad:

・Taught Japanese to refugees in Japan as a volunteer, and interviewed them as a part of the graduation thesis.

・Participated in the UN program called "Intensive Training Program for Career in International Civil Service," and completed the course instructed by current and former UN employees in UN Headquarters in New York.

・Participated in the program called "India Service Learning Program", and visited 4 cities (New Delhi, Agra, Varanasi and Kolkata), and worked as a volunteer in Prem Dan, the facility founded by Mother Teresa.

・Visited an orphanage in Cambodia as a leader of the volunteering work team, and led the team for four times in total.

・Visited an orphanage in Philippines and participated in a church-run soup kitchen.

→Fostered positive relationships among team members with effective communication and collaboration initiatives.

During a grad student:

• Served as one of the main directors for my home church’s VBS in Japan, which welcomed nearly 500 mostly non-believing children.

→Enhanced children''s spiritual growth by developing engaging and age-appropriate VBS curriculum.

・Being a member of children ministry team, currently serving in a childcare and the nursery.

→Providing consistent childcare during church services, allowing parents to participate worryfree. Assisted with special events and programs.

• Organized a Global Expo highlighting a reality of Christianity around the world
• Engaged in prayer meetings for revival in local and global contexts

• Directed international news programs (NHK NEWSLINE, Newsroom Tokyo)
• Directed special coverage on the 3.11 Great East Japan Earthquake and WWII Memorial Day
• Contributed to Tokyo 2020 Olympics programming
• Developed leadership, communication, and crisis management skills in high-pressure environments