Ariel Powell OC ‘14

J. F. Oberlin University, Japan (2014-16)

Ariel Powell majored in East Asian Studies and graduated in 2014. A Cleveland native, Ariel volunteered at the Citizens Leadership Academy helping out in the office, and assisting teachers. She spent her junior year abroad in Osaka with the Associated Kyoto Program where she was the class representative, and she has taught Japanese to students aged 7 to 18 at the renowned Concordia Village Language School in Minnesota. At Oberlin, Ariel could often be found at Mudd Library where she was an interlibrary loan student intern, or tutoring through the America Reads program. Her energy and passion for Japanese language and culture is infectious! Personal growth was a theme for Ariel during her Shansi Fellowship. Traveling in India was a game-changer. “I was taken so far out of my comfort zone that I was forced to redefine where that zone actually was. I really needed that to happen.” As her second year came to an end, Ariel told us “Good or bad, I know this experience has completely changed my life’s trajectory. Possibilities have opened up to me that I never before dreamed of happening. Through this experience I have become more flexible and changed how I view the world.”