After Hitomi received BA in Education from Gunma university, Hitomi worked as a nature interpreter at Oze National Park, and then became a public high school science teacher. She also enjoyed the weekend volunteering. She taught various kinds of experiments at science workshops for children and taught Japanese to adults who moved from a foreign country. In 2013, her family moved to Tucson. First, she taught Japanese language and culture at a Charter High School. In 2015, she founded Tucson Japanese Language School with co-founder Minami and continues to contribute as a community educator. She studied at the University of Arizona and obtained a master's degree in education and an Arizona Teaching Certificate in 2019. She became a high school teacher again in Tucson and continues her adventure. 

Minami received her BA in International Relations along with Japanese language acquisition as a minor from the Tokyo International University. In her college years, she worked as a Japanese tutor at local elementary schools. She also focused on multicultural exchanges and worked with exchange students. In the last year of college, she worked at United Nations Information Centre as an intern to experience work at the UN. After her graduation, she taught Japanese at Tokyo Bungo Gakuin in Tokyo and located in Salem, Oregon where she worked as a Japanese TA for two years. She met with Hitomi through her children and founded the Tucson Japanese Language School with her in 2015. She is also a founder of truly-non toxic cleaning company " Safi Home Works" which empowering local refugees. She is working hard to make good changes and putting effort to make this world a better place. She has two beautiful children and a wonderful husband. Recently she gave a birth to her third child. Outside of work, she enjoys cooking and gardening.

Rie (Leah) has been interested in Western art and architecture. After she graduated from interior design school in Japan, she traveled to Europe and met future husband. In 1980, she moved to Tucson where her husband lived. Her husband and she established a commercial art business for 20 years while she was raising three sons. In 2002, she realized that she wanted to help people and decided to go back to Pima Community College to study nursing. She retired after working as a CNA in the hospital and home health care setting for 15 years.
Now she is enjoying babysitting her grandchildren. She loves children so she is very happy to interact and to volunteer at Tucson Japanese Language School.

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My name is Bella Hennessy, I am a Junior ( 11th grade ) In highschool. I was born in Las Vegas Nevada but I have lived all over the world. Most recently I lived in Yokohama Japan for 4 years ( 2020 - 2024 ). In those four years I taught myself Japanese almost to a fluent level. I love animals and going horse riding! I decided to join Tucson Nihongo Hosyuko so that I can keep up on my own Japanese and teach others Japanese.

Lindsay has loved Japan since she was a child, and began studying the language over 20 years ago. She studied abroad in Japan from 2004-2006, when she passed the Level 1 JLPT. After graduating from the U of A’s East Asia Studies program in 2008, she moved to Utsunomiya as a CIR through the JET Program, where she translated, interpreted for the governor, and visited schools to give presentations about the U.S. She returned to Tucson in 2012, and work remotely to translate the annual “Hobonichi Techo” by Shigesato Itoi while working at Tucson-based video game merchandise company Fangamer. She has a 1 year old daughter she is raising to be fluent in Japanese.

Miharu Lee was born and raised in a rural area in Japan. In 2000, She came to the United States to study English at Arizona State University. After three years of living in Tempe, her husband’s job took them to many places around the world. She returned to Arizona and settled down in Tucson a few years ago. She has a daughter who attends at Japanese school. 

Only after she had left Japan she finally realized the beauty of her home country and its culture, and she is excited to share this with others. She believes learning another language helps to better understand the culture and the people and to appreciate differences. She also likes working with children, and she has volunteered at her daughter’s schools. At the Tucson Japanese Language School, she is now able to enjoy working with children in her mother language, Japanese!

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Hello, I'm Meg Nakamura, who will be run for Kids with parents class with Ms. Hitomi starting this school year. This is my 3rd years since I started helping/volunteering the Japanese school. I’m looking forward to get in touch Japanese with you at class!

My name is Manami, and I’m a nisei. I attended Penn State University for my Bachelor of Science in Rehabilitation and Human Services. Afterwards I graduated from Salus University with a Master of Science in Low Vision Rehabilitation. I moved to Tucson for a job in 2020 during the start of COVID-19.  After a couple years of adjusting and enjoying Tucson, I decided to volunteer at Tucson Nihongo Hosyuko to meet other Japanese people and practice my conversational speaking.”

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I was born in Japan and lived there, learning to speak Japanese as my first language. I moved to Tucson when I was four years old and have lived here ever since. I have been attending this school since it opened and have many fond memories over the years, such as the annual sports festival and attending various Japanese events and participating in Japanese concerts. In 2023, I entered high school, so I ended my time as a student here at Tucson Japanese Language School and have since started volunteering here as a teacher's assistant. Tucson Japanese Language School also helped me keep my Japanese sharp, stay connected to my Japanese roots, and contribute to the community through various events and practicing speaking among fellow Japanese people. I am excited to continue my journey as a volunteer and an active participant in the Japanese community.
 

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Emi is a student at a local high school. She was born in Japan and moved to Tucson in 2013 when she was 2 years old. She has been attending Tucson Japanese Language School since 2015. She stopped being a student at the school after 9 years in the summer of 2024 and is very excited that she is now a volunteer and that she has the opportunity to help younger children understand the language. She is interested in leading a career in education in the future and thinks this volunteer work will help to prepare her for that.

Jennifer is nisei (second-generation Japanese American), born and raised in California. After graduating from UCLA with a degree in Computer Science and starting her career in San Jose, she moved to Tucson for her job at IBM in 2004, where she met her husband. In 2018, she enrolled their daughter in the Tucson Japanese Language School, and around the same time, started pushing herself to improve her basic Japanese skills, as well. When covid-19 pandemic hit and Nihongo Cafe shifted to virtual meetings with a group of volunteers in Anjo, Japan, Jennifer started participating in various conversation groups. She has been thoroughly enjoying meeting and getting to know the people in the group, as well as practicing her Japanese conversational skills.