I had the pleasure of interviewing the two founders of Fledgers, a student group founded by ICU25 students, Arito Nagasaka and Ryotaro Koyama. After the second event, “Second Event: Connect 25,” I spoke with them about the reason behind the launch of Fledgers and their backstory. I also spoke with them about their impressions of the 1st and 2nd events, along with their goals for the future.
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What kind of organization is Fledgers?
Arito: When people ask me what kind of organization Fledgers is, I actually have a hard time answering because I think we can be any kind of organization. The main purpose of this organization is to connect people to each other. Until now, we have been connecting ICU25 students with other ICU25 students. In the future, we would like to connect ICU students with students from other grades, and after that, we would like to connect with students from other universities, companies, and high school students as well. One thing that will not change in our future activities is our goal of “connecting people to people. The way to accomplish this is to provide a place where participants at any event can find a buddy or friend. A buddy is someone with whom you can have a casual conversation and talk seriously about the future and how to live. I think that the older you get in college, the more difficult it becomes to find a buddy with whom you can have such conversations. At other universities, the only social interaction is almost exclusively in drinking clubs, and I feel that those relationships are often superficial. Therefore, I would like to continue our activities to provide opportunities and places where students can find buddies.
Ryotaro: If I had to describe Fledgers in one sentence, I would say that we are an organization that finds people who are willing to pursue their dreams with us. What we try to do when planning events is to incorporate interesting elements into the activities. I hope that each event will bring joy to someone or benefit someone else.
What was the motivation behind starting Fledgers?
Arito: It all started on the Chuo Line. One day, Ryotaro and I were talking on the Chuo Line. We were both members of the same club, WINDS. Also, our hobbies were completely in line with each other. We were both interested in playing the violin and road biking while having the same goal of becoming pilots. When we were talking about how similar we were, Ryotaro mentioned that he had been involved in a student organization when he was in high school. The student group was called “First Penguin,” and it was an organization for high school students to discuss and tackle various social issues in the world. We were talking about how we would like to do something similar, and we concluded that we both shared a common goal: facing the difficulties that come with becoming a pilot. There are a lot of difficulties in becoming a pilot. The biggest issue is the cost. It costs about 20,000,000 yen per person. In addition to this financial burden, there is the information war. For example, if you are the son of a pilot or have a pilot in your family, you can get advice. There is a disparity in information due to connections. Also, some parents are not supportive of this goal, resulting in many students eventually giving up their dreams. Additionally, many people are tempted to give up if they do not find anyone around them who is also aiming to become a pilot. So many students give up flying for various reasons. That is why Fledgers started out with the intention of creating an organization that aims to connect students who want to become pilots. After getting off the Chuo Line, Ryotaro and I kept in touch with each other and decided to create an organization. That was last October 2021.
Even here, we realized that an organization with the goal of “connecting students who want to become pilots” would become our dream, our self-fulfillment. But the main goal of Fledgers now is to create a society where students can pursue their dreams in equal standing. In order to achieve this goal, we want to connect students with each other. The first reason for this is “information warfare.” When someone comes to an event and finds new possibilities or expands his/her network, it means that more information is available. We want to create an environment where people can exchange information. The second reason is that there is an aspect of disparity and peer pressure when it comes to pursuing dreams. It takes a lot of courage to tell people around you that you have a dream. In today’s world, a lot of people have to pursue their dreams alone. There may be no one to ask for advice.
That’s why we have made the future a topic of discussion at every Fledgers event, with the goal of finding a buddy with whom you can share information along with your future plans. By doing this, I hope to reduce the burden of pursuing dreams alone, even if by only a little.
Ryotaro: Having a shared dream was the reason this organization was formed. Having the opportunity to talk about our shared dream, rather than doing a lot of research on my own, helped me discover that there are other ways to approach my goals.
In a survey of elementary, junior high, and high school students 10-20 years ago, dreams used to be more simple and straightforward (bakery, florist, etc.), but according to last year’s survey, the top dream was to become a company employee. I think this dream is the result of being influenced by others’ ideas of “you can’t do it” or “it’s impossible,” as well as being affected by the bad economic conditions of recent years. I wish there were an environment that would allow me to continue chasing my dream until the end. I think it is totally possible to change your dream after realizing something as a result of chasing it. I thought it would be really motivational if I could work hard together with someone, and that’s why I created this student group.
What are your thoughts regarding the very first event you held? Were there any challenges you faced?
Arito: At first, we weren’t sure whether our goal of “connecting people with people” would be in much demand. We held the first event as a trial. We booked the venue ahead of time and planned it backward. The title of this first event was “Peer Review Your Future,” and we had two icebreakers and two activities. The first activity was to draw a graph of your life and reflect on your own axis. Then we asked everyone to think about their dreams and goals for the future based on the graphs they had drawn. In the second activity, the participants were divided into groups based on their graphs, and we asked them to think of a common goal for the month. The purpose of the activity was to help participants take the first steps in achieving their dreams.
One group contained members that had definite dreams for their future, such as wanting to do SNS marketing or becoming a CA. After asking the group to research the career they most wanted to pursue, one participant mentioned that they had begun an internship thanks to this activity. Another member mentioned that they had taken up learning a second language. A second group, called “Waters,” contained some members who believed they didn’t need to dream and simply wanted to focus on their life in the present. This group was named “Waters” to represent the idea of being anything they wanted to be and doing whatever they wanted to do, just like water. A third group was divided into three groups: members who had a dream, members who had a dream but were still hazy on the details, and members who didn’t feel as though “dreaming” was necessary. The criterion for the division was the “dream. However, I felt that this actually put pressure on those who felt that they had no dream or that they didn’t need a dream. After the event, I realized that it is okay to not have a dream right now. However, I think it is important to have something that interests you. I hope that through Fledgers, I can create an opportunity for people to take a step forward and take action. I want to make Fledgers a community where people can talk about their dreams with each other. That’s my idea.
Ryotaro: The most difficult aspect of the event was planning activities that would accomplish the goals of our event. One thing I was happy about was how groups like “Waters” was able to make even small steps to achieving their dreams.
What were the goals of the second event? How did you feel about the event afterward?
Arito: Originally, there was a concept of a “buddy” in the first event as well, but I think the meaning of “buddy” changed a little. From the second event onward, I thought it was fine if we didn’t share a common dream. Now I think that a buddy is someone with whom I can have serious conversations about dreams, future life, college, and other things that I don’t typically discuss with other people. It is very difficult to find someone like this at university. For the current sophomores (ICU25), ELA is over. It takes more than one to two months to get to know each other and hit it off through face-to-face class discussions. But at Fledgers, are here to help students find a buddy by providing activities and places where they can get to know each other’s perspectives without prejudice, making it easier for students to socialize and make friends in a single event. The goal of the second event was to connect 25 Aprils with Septembers and OYRs. The trial first event went well, and we wanted to find a way to improve our events. The first thing that made me happy was seeing the participants walk back to the station in groups of 5-10 people after the event. Having attended student exchange events in the past as a participant, I found it difficult to form lasting relationships (buddies) through games. I had the impression that at these sorts of events, participants would leave one by one and lose contact with each other. But at this event, I was happy to see so many people leaving together. The second thing that made me happy was when participants told me that they’d been waiting to attend an event like this one. They are few opportunities for 25 April and Septems to get involved with one another on a daily basis, so I was very happy to hear people say that this event was a great opportunity for them to get involved with someone they didn’t know in college. I am very glad that we were able to achieve our goal of hosting an event like this.
I have two points to reflect on after the second event. The first is that the management was not fully prepared, and there was a mix-up between English and Japanese translations. Secondly, although we had a lot of fun with the people we met, we were unable to build enough lasting relationships because people tended to avoid asking deep questions during the games we played.
Ryotaro: There was some difficulty in deciding on the direction of the activity until the day of the event, and we were struggling up until the last minute. But by the end of the event, it worked out, and I was happy to see good reactions from the participants.
Why did you want to become a pilot in the first place? Is this a goal you are continuing to pursue?
Arito: I watched Star Wars for the first time when I was four years old, and I wanted to become a Jedi Knight. The closest real-life job to this was either an astronaut or a pilot. When I studied abroad in Australia, I had the opportunity to meet a lot of pilots, and this motivated me to become one myself. Not only do pilots carry passengers, but they also carry their (the passenger’s) hopes and dreams as well. Also, when I started my internship, I met more pilots who all spoke passionately about their careers, and this further motivated me to pursue my dream. My second dream is to become a teacher, so I am also studying to obtain my teaching license while I am at ICU. I came to ICU for the teaching program. However, my dream will always be to become a pilot.
Ryotaro: I was influenced a lot by my father. My father loves airplanes, and I often saw him flying airplanes in competitions at Tamagawa when I was in kindergarten. I thought this was really cool. I also saw a lot of books and model airplanes at my home and this further piqued my interest. Since kindergarten, I wrote that my dream was to become a pilot at the Tanabata Festival each year. But watching Star Wars was also another reason I decided to become a pilot as well. I am also working to obtain my teaching license here at ICU. My goal isn’t to become a teacher, but in order to become a pilot, I need to do what I can do now. I also felt that I needed to have a backup option for my future in case I wasn’t able to become a pilot. I am currently studying a lot of fields that I am interested in.
Despite having dreams of becoming pilots, you both decided to attend ICU. Was there any particular reasoning behind this choice?
Arito: When I asked my senpais who attended ICU to tell me about the school, everyone smiled as they talked about the school. Even when they were talking seriously about the school, they did so with a smile. I chose ICU because I felt this was very special. Another reason is that ICU has a lot of interesting people. There are a lot of international people and people who have unique ways of thinking. I thought I would be able to get opinions from different perspectives while I was studying to become a pilot. I wanted to do something that would have surprised me a year ago.
Ryotaro: ICU is famous for its high level of English despite being a Japanese university, and this stuck out to me as a high school student who liked English. My dream of becoming a pilot has not changed since I made the decision to attend ICU, but when I ask other pilots, I know if there is anything I can do to prepare myself for this career while attending university, the answer I have always gotten is “no.” They always told me to enjoy being a student. I didn’t want to do anything else at the time. There was nothing else I wanted to do at the time, so ICU was a very good choice because of the liberal arts component, where you have the opportunity to take a wide variety of classes.
Does either of you have any last words or comments for the readers?
Arito:Firstly, Fledgers is a student organization, unlike typical student organizations. Personally, I feel that most college student groups are not achieving what they say are their goals of the group. I believe that more can be done in terms of individual learning. I think that student organizations are for the benefit of the students, so I wanted to connect with ICU students. I want Fledgers to be an organization that can continue to create more.
Participating in events and meeting new people is an opportunity to take a step forward. We hope that our event will be a learning experience and inspiration for our members.
ICU students to be independent. They are very sure about what they want to do and how they think. I get the impression that each person passionately engages in what he or she is interested in. I think that if you combine the passions of different students, you would end up with something quite innovative. However, at ICU, there are not many groups or events that connect students with each other, so it is difficult for this to happen. That is why I would like to do exactly this through our organization.
You may feel that some people are impatient about their dreams and future plans. But there really is no need to rush. Interests are formed through connections, and we want to provide a place where you can get inspiration from the people you meet at events. That is what Fledgers is all about. It may be difficult to talk to others in college, we want to provide a place where people can support each other even if they don’t have a dream.
Ryotaro: While you may have the impression that Fledgers is a student organization where only people with dreams gather if people who are still in the process of realizing their dream were to join, it is possible that talking to others will inspire you to realize your own dream. So please come! Additionally, I would like to mention that dreams are not something that you need to chase on your own. If you find companions, it is an opportunity to broaden your perspectives and connections. Whether you have already had a dream or you are still searching, I want you all to please come to our events.
We will be continuing to hold events, so please come! We are currently searching for organizers for our next event, so if you are interested, please do consider applying!
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I participated in the first Fledgers event as a participant and took part in the second event as an organizer. I wanted to gain leadership experience, and I also resonated with Fledgers’ motto and goals. Through participating in these events, I was able to meet some very special people, and for that, I am very grateful.
If you are even the slightest bit interested, please consider attending an event or even applying to be an organizer! Also, be sure to check out Fledgers’ official Instagram account, @fledgers_official.