{"id":31858,"date":"2026-05-20T09:48:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T16:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/nhs\/?p=31858"},"modified":"2026-05-20T12:27:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T19:27:35","slug":"fostering-global-community-engagement-by-connecting-classrooms-across-borders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/nhs\/news\/2026\/05\/20\/fostering-global-community-engagement-by-connecting-classrooms-across-borders","title":{"rendered":"Fostering Global Community Engagement by Connecting Classrooms Across Borders"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Photo 1: Haruka Furusho (on right) and Dr. Kosuke Niitsu (on left) broadcasting a special lecture from the United States for undergraduate nursing students in Japan (on the screen) via Zoom.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cDo you know the Model Minority Myth? What is social justice?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Haruka Furusho, a graduate student in the Master of Science in Community Health & Social Justice (MSCHSJ)<\/a>, and her mentor, Dr. Kosuke “Ko” Niitsu, Associate Professor<\/a> in the School of Nursing & Health Studies at the University of Washington (UW) Bothell, delivered a special lecture for undergraduate nursing students enrolled at the Institute of Science Tokyo (IST) by connecting classrooms between the United States and Japan (Photo 1). Haruka delivered her lecture titled, \u201cFrom Clinical Nursing to Community Health: My Journey from Japan to the U.S.\u201d (Photo 2). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo 2: Haruka greeting IST nursing students via Zoom.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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In her lecture, Haruka reflected on her experience as a nursing student at a university in Japan and a professional nurse at a hospital in Tokyo (Photo 3). She then described the challenges she faced when she immigrated from Japan to the United States, including a language barrier, cultural differences, feeling isolated, and difficulty speaking up. In early 2024, Haruka met Dr. Grace Lasker, a former Teaching Professor in SNHS at UW Bothell and now the Dean at Bellevue College, who encouraged her to apply to the MSCHSJ program and introduced her to Dr. Niitsu. She has been learning in MSCHSJ and receiving mentorship from Dr. Niitsu since the Autumn 2024 quarter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo 3: Haruka reflecting on her personal and professional journey in Japan and in the United States.<\/em>
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Haruka introduced a concept, the Model Minority Myth, a form of stereotype that Asian immigrants, including those from Japan, often face in the United States. When she taught the definitions of community health and social justice, she made the learning experience more interactive by using Kahoot!, a game-based learning platform that allowed IST nursing students to vote on answers and learn these concepts in a more fun and engaged way (Photo 4). She also described the capstone project that she has been working on with her community partner, FLAT<\/a>, a non-profit organization that provides medical and health support for Japanese people living in the United States. Through her capstone, she developed educational materials about cancer screening in linguistically appropriate and culturally sensitive ways by incorporating consumers\u2019 voices. She concluded her lecture by emphasizing, \u201cHealthcare and being healthy are everyone\u2019s right, no matter who you are\u201d.
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Photo 4: Haruka teaching what social justice is via Kahoot!<\/em>
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Zhexi Ying, a PhD student and a Teaching Assistant at IST, asked Haruka a question, \u201cI’ve been thinking, do immigrants\/foreigners tend to experience greater health inequity\/discrimination in multi-cultural societies like the USA or relatively homogenous societies like Japan? What do you think?\u201d As an individual who grew up in China and currently lives in Japan as an immigrant\/foreigner, Zhexi reflected on her life and shared her experiences with the class. Haruka mentioned a project in which she interviewed Muslim women living in Japan<\/a> when she was a graduate student in the Master of Science in Nursing program at a university in Japan. Zhexi and Haruka brought their perspectives to the class and had an insightful discussion in the virtual classroom connecting two countries (Photo 5).
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Photo 5: Zhexi and Haruka discussing across the globe via Zoom<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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In addition to Haruka\u2019s lecture, Dr. Niitsu described nursing education and workforce issues in the United States (Photo 6).
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Photo 6: Dr. Niitsu describing the admission requirements to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), where he graduated.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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He also discussed the UW Study Abroad program for IST students that he developed, and Haruka assisted:<\/p>\n\n\n\n