Megumi Shibamiya

Japanese teacher Megumi Shibamiya didn’t expect to become a language teacher — she went to college as an engineering major and quickly found a job as an engineer in Japan. After a couple years, seeking a change of pace, Shibamiya decided to tutor a few adults in English as a side job. Realizing how much she enjoyed teaching, and hoping to move back to California, the state she grew up in, Shibamiya decided to return to her alma mater, Stanford, and make a change in careers.

 

Before starting her teaching career, she reached out to a few teachers to observe their classes, including Los Gatos High School, Saratoga High School and North Salinas High School. As soon as she entered a high school Japanese classroom, she realized what she wanted to do. 

 

"There was a lot of excitement, and I thought that there was a lot in terms of sharing and learning," Shibamiya said. "I felt really excited by the opportunities of what you could do in a high school classroom."

 

As a high school student, Shibamiya's favorite classes were math and Spanish. She says her particular fondness for Spanish may have influenced her decision to become a language teacher. 

 

"I just love languages and everything that comes along with learning them," Shibamiya said. "Every language that you have the opportunity to learn really opens up so many doors and so many new [paths] for you. I want to have the chance to help other students do that."

 

As a multilingual person who speaks English, Japanese and Spanish, Shibamiya says she hopes to inspire students to continue learning Japanese even after graduation.

 

"Learning a language is really a lifetime journey," Shibamiya said. "It's not something that's going to start and end in high school. My biggest goal would be to have students … want to continue that journey and to be lifelong learners."