Portland and the Gresham-Troutdale chapters of the JACL, along with nine other Japanese American organizations and churches, held the 72nd annual Japanese American Graduation Banquet on May 5 at the Monarch Hotel in Clackamas, Ore.
Seventeen high school seniors from the greater Portland area were honored with awards and/or scholarships totaling more than $19,000.
The event’s emcee was Chip Larouche, PNWDC governor of JACL. Also in attendance was Consul General of Japan in Portland Takashi Teraoka, who congratulated the seniors and wished them well in his remarks.
Dr. Wynn Kiyama, executive director of Portland Taiko, was the keynote speaker. In his speech, Kiyama compared his journey from college to where he is today and related that to some of the ideas he had heard from the graduates as he chatted with them before the luncheon.
In all, more than 185 guests were in attendance to congratulate the students as they begin their collegiate career in the fall.
The Class of 2019 scholarship recipients honored at the Japanese American Graduation Banquet are (front row, from left) Luke Wilson, Emily Ogawa, Lauren Yanase, Alexandra Tomita, Cinclair Mathies, Mili Nakamura, Erica Pasquantonio, Leonard Tanne, Michael Hasegawa and (back row, from left) Kent Ishida, Ella Hirata, Alyson Miura, Isaaiah Baltzel, Sean Cunningham, Yukaiya Nomoto, Kaito Wilson and Miles Takiguchi.
