Student attorney wins Japanese language award

April 13, 2006

Stephen Christian, a second-year language student in the Japanese program at Irvine Valley, won first prize in the 2006 Japanese Intercollegiate Speech Contest in February at California State University, Los Angeles.

He won the top prize in the first- and second-year category with his presentation, “The Will Written in Japanese.”

Christian, who has been an attorney for over 20 years, became interested in Japanese as a young lawyer. A client had brought him a will to execute, but it had been written in Japanese, and to translate it accurately, he knew he would have to find someone capable who could.

The experience stayed with Christian and he vowed to learn the language in order to provide translations and other services to Japanese clients. However, it was while he was on vacation in Japan with his wife many years later that he decided it was time to pursue his goal, especially after becoming intrigued with the country and its culture.

Now, two years later, Christian views his study of Japanese as much as a personal challenge as a way to help potential clients. He went on to compete against 22 other students for the award, and has successfully passed several Japanese skills tests for language certification.

Christian’s speech, which was presented in Japanese, detailed his former client’s situation and his own desire to learn the language. He now says learning the customs of Japan is a challenge unto itself, and learning the language after twenty years has fulfilled his long-held wish.