A Beacon of Generosity, Understanding and Optimism

St. Paul’s School welcomes Seikei School leaders as exchange program celebrates 75 years.

BY KATE DUNLOP

On Oct. 24, a delegation from Seikei Junior Senior High School in Tokyo, Japan, visited St. Paul’s School to celebrate a 75-year exchange program between the two schools that has fostered global understanding and cooperation, and to honor the young people who built the relationship that began in the aftermath of World War II. Three students from Seikei currently study at SPS, continuing the tradition of cross-cultural friendships grounded in mutual respect and curiosity.  

In welcoming Principal Naoto Senda and two Seikei educators during chapel, Rector Kathy Giles painted a vivid picture of the program’s origins.  

“For the past 75 years and through all the astonishing winds of change that have battered the world, the Seikei-St. Paul’s partnership has remained a steady beacon of generosity, understanding and optimism,” she said. “This long partnership founded on one generous idea in a world ravaged by war has given rise to decades of goodwill and mutual inspiration.” 

Minoru “Ben” Makihara ’50 came to SPS in 1949 as the first Seikei Scholar at the invitation of Sixth Rector Henry Kittredge, who felt the imperative of emphasizing goodness, ethics and global citizenship as part of the School’s pedagogy following the end of the second World War.  Arriving in Millville from occupied Tokyo, Makihara became the first in a long line of Seikei students to bring the world to SPS — and to experience their own transformation in the School environment.  

Speaking in chapel, Senda shared his eagerness to see the SPS lives of the current Seikei students. “Please take care of them … exchanging students is a valuable experience and I believe it is a turning point in one’s life. St. Paul’s has supported this relationship by opening an amazing educational environment and school life for such a long time. It is because of these actions … that this relationship has continued to be strong and we’re very truly grateful. … We look forward with hope for the continued partnership between St. Paul’s and Seikei in the future.”

Seikei’s principal for four years, Senda’s visit to SPS was his first, though he has long been aware of the exchange. A Seikei alumnus and a history teacher before entering administration, he is dedicated to strengthening his school’s international understanding offerings through internal and study abroad programs as well as expanding the number of students who can study abroad. 

“International understanding has been a key focus of Seikei and the pioneer of that was Makihara, who was the first SPS student. That communication between SPS and Seikei has really underpinned everything at Seikei since the end of World War II,” Senda said. “His experience was a pillar for us to build upon and to stack the new levels of study abroad and international education offerings.”

To be considered for the exchange, Seikei students go through a rigorous selection process that ensures they understand the history and significance of the program. The school provides language training and helps students set goals for their time at SPS. 

During their visit, Senda and his colleagues — English teacher and International Committee head Hidekazu Tomitsuka and adviser and college counselor Matthew Wright — toured the grounds and spent time with Seikei Scholars Tamaki Nakajima ’25, Raya Yuguchi ’26 and Yuki Nosaka ’27. After observing Nakajima in her math and Chinese classes, Senda noted her active participation. 

“It must be pretty common in the U.S., but that ability to speak up in class, to share your opinions with everybody without fearing what other people are going to say — her confidence to do that is the first thing I noticed,” said Senda. “The second is that when she showed me her research on the DNA of wheat and talked about wanting to contribute to the understanding of the global society … I was deeply moved that she’s already started to accomplish her goal of affecting change on a bigger scale.” 

Though an SPS student has not studied at Seikei since the COVID-19 pandemic, Senda looks forward to welcoming the next one to do so. Both he and Giles see the exchange as an important model for international understanding and friendship, even and perhaps especially in times of conflict between nations, and they share a hope that the relationship between the schools will continue to grow and have a positive impact on the broader relationship between the U.S. and Japan. 

To that end, in spring 2025, Giles will visit Seikei School to celebrate on Japanese soil the extraordinary friendship that has endured for three-quarters of a century.