Article

June 1, 2008

Diablo Japanese American (JA) Club Newsletter

Submitted by Karen Sakata, Scholarship Chairperson

On Sunday, June 1, 2008 the annual Diablo Japanese American (JA) Club Graduation Dinner was held at Zio Fredo’s Restaurant in Pleasant Hill, CA.

Five scholarships were presented by Scholarship Chairperson, Karen Sakata. This year’s recipients were as follows:

Lindsay Tamura, a graduate from College Park High in Pleasant Hill, CA will be attending the University of California, Davis.

Josh Ziesmer, a graduate from Las Lomas High in

Walnut Creek, CA will be attending the University of California, Berkeley.

Eric Osada, a graduate from Clayton Valley High in Concord, CA will be attending the University of California, Riverside.

James Ichiuji, a graduate from San Ramon Valley High in Danville, CA will be attending the University of California, Irvine.

Christopher Sonoda, a graduate from Miramonte High in Orinda, CA will be attending the University of California, Davis.

Michael Tsujimoto, a graduate from Salesians High in Richmond will be attending St. Mary’s College.

The guest speaker for the dinner was Colleen Oinuma, a 2008 Environmental Studies graduate from University of California Berkeley. Colleen, who was originally from San Gabriel, California, was one of only twelve college students statewide to be accepted into the Nikkei Community Internship Program. This summer program, sponsored by the Japanese American Community Leadership Council gave interns first had experience working within the community. Colleen also served as the UC Berkeley Nikkei Student Union President and Chairperson for the NSU Culture Show.

Graduates, families and members of the JA Club celebrated this event. The scholarships were made possible with contributions from California Bank and Trust, Union Bank, Wells Fargo, Diablo Athletic Club and Diablo JA Club.

Thank you for Sharon Akiyama, JA Club President, David Ziesmer, JA Treasurer, Leslie Hisaka, JA Secretary, Ken Baba, JARCC Board of Directors and Pat Baba, JA Past-President who planned this wonderful event.