TUFS Student Wins Highest Award at NHK Disability Welfare Awards

November 14, 2019

TUFS student AKAIWA Manae (School of International and Area Studies, Central European Studies/German Language Studies, third year) won the highest award at the 54th NHK Disability Welfare Awards (sponsored by the NHK Public Welfare Organization).
This award was founded in 1966, and has since been awarded to those who submit first-hand accounts of either their own experiences as people with disabilities, or their experiences in the education and caregiving of people with disabilities.
Ms. Akaiwa submitted a piece about her struggles with bipolar disorder titled ��Go for it, Daruma!: My Manic Depressive Recluse Diary��. It was chosen out of 393 submissions for the prestigious ��Award of Excellence��.
The award ceremony for this competition will be held on December 6 (Friday).

• Comment - Ms. Akaiwa
  Thanks to the support of many people including my family, friends, professors, doctors and school counselors, I was able to continue studying at university while dealing with my disability, bipolar disorder.
  When I told them all that I won this award, they were so happy for me as if they themselves had won it. It made me think about how I was able to build these relationships despite my illness, and that this is my greatest asset.
  I want to keep moving forward, keeping in mind the gratitude and humility that got me this far.