Attending an overnight summer camp with people you have never met before takes courage. Travelling halfway around the world to do so, in a country whose language is not your own, takes something more.
For Kiho Koike and Rina Tanaka, both from Japan though strangers to each other, that courage brought them to St. Michaels University School (SMUS) in Victoria, British Columbia for the Rising Leaders camp.
The Camp That Wouldn't Let Go
Kiho Koike ‘28 had spent nine years at the same school in Japan. She loved it, but something in her wanted to find out what she was capable of somewhere entirely new. When her mother found the SMUS Rising Leaders camp, she encouraged Kiho to give it a try, and in 2023, Kiho arrived in Victoria for two weeks, her first time travelling overseas alone.
The experience of being surrounded by students from dozens of different countries, all living and learning together on campus, was unlike anything she had known at home. Two weeks passed quickly.
When they ended and she flew back to Japan, she wasn't prepared for the feeling that followed.
"I really, really missed the camp and the people there. That's when I thought: I should become a student here."
She returned the following summer for a four-week program, this time already registered as an incoming student. The camps had done more than introduce her to the school. They had answered a question she hadn't known how to ask.
"Living at camp helped me realize that I could live away from my parents, in another country. It showed me that I was able to do it."
Now in Grade 10 and fully immersed in boarding life, Kiho has found her footing in the rhythms of campus life. She is involved in the Howard Business Club, the Japanese Culture Club, and tennis, and has even continued her scouting activities in Victoria, a small but meaningful thread connecting her life in Japan to her new home. The differences between Japanese and Canadian education, she says, are part of the adventure rather than an obstacle, and she is already thinking beyond high school, considering universities in Canada and abroad.
A Preview That Became a Foundation
For Rina Tanaka ‘26, the decision to come to SMUS came first. The camp came second.
By the time she attended the Rising Leaders camp the summer before her first year, she had already committed to enrolling but was curious to get an advance look. She arrived late, nervous, and on her own internationally for the first time, missing her family and uncertain what to expect. What she found was a warmth that surprised her.
"Many people welcomed me, which helped me start talking with others naturally. I tried my best to stay positive by communicating with people at the camp."
As the days passed, her anxiety gave way to something more lasting. She explored the campus, trying to picture the life ahead, and found herself genuinely excited by what she saw. The camp gave her something she couldn’t experience online: proof that she could feel at home here.
Now preparing to graduate in Grade 12, the distance she has travelled since those first uncertain days is remarkable. Before SMUS, she had almost never spoken English outside of a classroom in Japan. She pushed through that challenge, and it opened up a new world.
"At first it was difficult, but that experience motivated me to work harder, and helped me realize how exciting it can be to communicate with people from so many different backgrounds."
Today she is Co-head of the Japanese Culture Club, where she organizes cultural events including preparing traditional Japanese foods like Dorayaki and Somen for members. She is also Head of the Dance Team, where she has choreographed the team's routine and is teaching it ahead of an April competition. Her work as a visual artist has earned her a place in the SMUS Art Magazine. It is a long way from the nervous student who arrived late to a summer camp, uncertain of what she had gotten herself into.
Kiho and Rina arrived at SMUS by different paths and for different reasons. One came to discover. One came already decided, looking for reassurance. Both found more than they expected.
