The City of Bloomington named Aug. 24 “Kaori Marikawa Day” in celebration of Kaori Marikawa, a current senior at Bloomington High School South. Marikawa is a first-generation Japanese immigrant who is celebrated for her academic and musical achievements. She had the day dedicated to her because of her academic and musical accomplishments and contributions.
Marikawa is a member of her high school’s National Honors Society and was awarded the AP Scholar award by the College Board due to her high AP test scores. She was also nominated to be a U.S. Presidential Scholar by the Monroe County Community School Corporation.
She interned with the United Nations in 2018 in New York City, where she participated in international conferences and met diplomats and ambassadors.
In the future, Marikawa hopes to major in economics and political science in college and eventually work for the United Nations.
“I want to eventually work as a United Nations Officer, that’s my career goal,” Marikawa said. “I want to work mostly for human well being, specifically gender equality.”
Marikawa moved to Troy, Michigan, from Tokyo with her mom in 2017 at the age of 15. There, she was a first-chair violinist at the Oakland Youth Orchestra and won the Michigan School Band Violin and Orchestra Medal in 2018. She also was the leading violinist in the school band and played at local churches and charity events frequently.
Even though Marikwaya lives in Bloomington now, she frequently performs nightly violin concerts in Six Lakes, Michigan for local residents, which are named the Kaori Violin Concerts. She has done these violin performances since June to lift the spirits of residents in the Six Lakes area during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Marikawa said her passion for music helped her grow and develop as a person. She said she appreciates the comfort her music brings to people. Although she doesn’t plan to major in music or pursue it professionally, she still considers the violin as a lifelong passion of hers.
When Marikawa moved to the U.S., she said she felt lonely and left out because she didn’t know about American celebrities, sports, singers or local news. She didn’t know how to chat with her classmates about the things they cared about.
“Most Japanese are shy and conservative and don’t really speak out,” Marikawa said. “Here in the states, I feel like people are just ready to speak out and say what they think. They are a lot more confident and open."
Amanda Figolah, AP environmental science teacher at BHSS, said Marikawa is funny, culturally knowledgeable and a global thinker.
“She uses all of her knowledge in a passionate way to improve the world and reach her goals in life,” Figolah said. “She leads with her heart and uses her skills to make things happen.”
Marikawa is passionate about helping women in impoverished countries gain equal opportunities and equal human rights. She said she aspires to fix global issues surrounding gender equality, human rights and humanitarian aid.
Marikawa said she used her favorite English language novels to improve her English, such as “Oliver Twist,” “Wuthering Heights” and “Anne of Green Gables.” But it was harder to adjust to American life and culture, Marikawa said.
“I love English and I love English novels,” Marikawa said. “I feel like English is a tool that brings you into a wider world.”
Outside of her passion for music and government, Marikawa enjoys jogging, skating, playing chess and unicycling – a hobby she took up when she was a school student in Japan.
She explained she saw her classmates ride the unicycle, which inspired her to practice the skill herself.
“I brought my unicycle to the U.S and when I showed my unicycle to my schoolmates they were so surprised," Marikawa said. "They were chasing me around and said ‘Cool! How did you do that?’”
Her advice to other teen immigrants like her is to be true to oneself when confronting mean and discriminatory people and to never let go of individuality.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article's headline misspelled Kaori Marikawa's name. The IDS regrets this error.
