Haruka Muratani is a senior international student from Japan. She is 24 years old and has been attending Washburn University for two years after transferring from a university in Japan. After attending that university, she took a leave of absence for two years to travel around the world in order to figure out if college was what she truly wanted to do. Her major is computer science and she hopes to graduate in May of 2020.  

She chose Washburn to continue her education because of the small community, something her previous universities has lacked. The small town feel of Topeka allows Muratani to focus on her studies. She is able to stay on campus and enjoy the beauty of the grounds. 

“My favorite place on campus is probably the fish pond by the art building,” Muratani said. “There are many koi fish, which remind me of home.”

Washburn was also recommended to her by a study abroad agency in Tokyo because the computer program fits her level.   

The most interesting class that she is taking this semester is Drama Classics on Video. It is slightly difficult for her though, because a lot of the videos have British actors, which is harder for her to understand than videos with American actors. Along with that, it is quite difficult for her to understand the English without subtitles, and since a lot of the videos she has watched in the class are older, so the subtitle option isn’t always available. However, she still enjoys watching them and learning new things. 

For next semester, she will take a logic and computer class that she is looking forward to. Her favorite subjects are math and art. Math involves numbers, which ties into her major, and art helps her cultivate her creativity, even if she is not the greatest artist.  

Muratani is enjoying the people she has encountered and made friends with who have made her feel accepted even if she struggles with English. Her professors have also been welcoming and offered extra help. She enjoys the music events that are done at the White Concert Hall on campus.

If she could change one thing about Washburn, it woud be the food.

“Something I don’t like about Washburn is that the food is so expensive, even though many times it is very low quality,” Muratani said. 

Muratani wants to use her major to become a computer programmer, more specifically a free-lance programmer, because she will be able to do projects and things at her own pace. She wants to travel around the world as well, learning different programming techniques and types of programming from other places while she travels. She wants to discover the world and what it has to offer, hopefully becoming successfully along the way. Her main goal is to meet new people and create new things for programming that can change the world and help people improve their lives. 

“In my ideal future, being a programmer will be something that can be used in order to help not only people but the world,” Muratani said. “If I can become successful, than that is just a good bonus.”