Japan Bowl 2024 Report

Students from the Japanese 2 and 3 classes, along with their teacher Yoko Eshita, participated in the 33rd National Japan Bowl at the University of Maryland, a quiz competition on Japanese language and culture for high school students, on April 18th and 19th.

The Level 2 team of Rhubin Chon (’25-Chesterfield), Alyssa Gans (’26-Richmond), and Michelle Idowu (’26-Richmond) earned 10th place in the nation, and the Level 3 team of Winston Crane (’25-Richmond), Brenden Stremler (’25-Chesterfield), Phu Vo (’24-Henrico), and Zahid Zutshi (’25-Richmond) came in 11th place. In addition, Phu Vo received the Outstanding Performance Award for the Level 3 Conversation Round. The judges were very impressed with Phu’s performance in conversational Japanese.

Students were able to network with peers from around the United States and learned about college opportunities in Japan during the competition. Before returning to Richmond, they visited the Smithsonian Asian Art Museum in Washington, D.C. We are grateful to the Foundation for supporting this valuable opportunity for the students. 


From Left: Alyssa Gans, Michelle Idowu, Phu Vo, Zahid Zutshi, Rhubin Chon, Brenden Stremler, Winston Crane


Phu Vo receiving an Outstanding Performance Award for the Level 3 Conversation Round

Executive Director’s Snapshot

View updates by Kristin Janssen for this academic year.

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