The place where I found the person I wanted to be: a flight attendant

In high school, I wanted to be a veterinarian, but I had to give up on that dream, so I was searching for a new path and looking for a place to go to school. I was thinking, "I want to study tourism, which I love, but I'm not sure if I want to go down that path, so I want to broaden my horizons," when I found out about Otemae University 's "crossover" system and decided to enroll.
Many of the teachers taught based on their own experiences, and they often said, "As the saying goes, practice makes perfect, so do lots of activities that allow you to output what you have studied and input at university." Inspired by these words, I also participated in a variety of activities. I have shown foreigners around Kobe's tourist sites through activities aimed at job-seekers that are helping to revitalize the Kobe area, and I have also tried part-time work in the customer service industry, working as a guesthouse staff member and esthetician. From my experiences there, I decided to aspire to work as a flight attendant, where I can propose a variety of services to suit the needs of customers.

I am currently in my third year as a flight attendant, and the knowledge and experience I gained in university classes are often useful in the field. For example, in my third year, I made a "Shukugawa-Kuraen Map" with my seminar members, which summarized information about the area around the university. I learned firsthand how meaningful it is to actually go to the area, talk to shopkeepers, try out products, and check things out for yourself. Even now, as a flight attendant, I travel around the world, and I try to visit various places in different countries and regions, and when customers ask me for recommended places, I can tell them "what I really think is good." Conversely, I also ask customers for recommended places and foods, and spread the information I get from actually going there through the company's contact network and company SNS. I feel that the mindset of "checking and digging things up for yourself" that I learned at university is connected to my current way of working.
As part of my crossover studies, I also took psychology classes. I was particularly impressed by the class on "classifying anger into levels." Even now, I sometimes use the knowledge I gained there when dealing with customers. In this way, knowledge in a field other than my major can be useful in life. I think that being able to have such experiences is one of the attractions of Otemae University.

I was touched and moved many times by the attitude of the teachers at Otemae University, who support the dreams of students with all their might. Otemae University also places emphasis on the educational axis of "1on1 reflection," and places importance on the attitude of teachers facing each student. When a student communicates something, someone is always there to accept it without being rejected.
I remember when I told my homeroom teacher in my third year that I wanted to become a flight attendant, he was flexible in his thinking and helped me to succeed. He not only provided basic support such as introducing me to alumni visits, practicing for interviews, and correcting my application forms, but also sincerely addressed my personal concerns. When I asked him about the cost of attending W School to become a flight attendant, he looked into a scholarship program that provides assistance with university tuition fees. Without this program, I don't think I would have been able to realize my dream.
In addition, that teacher also told other Professor that "I want to be a flight attendant," and it was also a big help to receive multifaceted support from people familiar with various industries. Sometimes, I received information useful for recruiting as a flight attendant from professors I didn't know, and it felt like I was being supported in my dream not one-on-one, but one-on-ten. Looking back, I think that the teachers must have gone out of their way to research and teach me about airlines, since there are no courses specialized in airlines at Otemae. All of my friends at university were working hard toward different dreams, such as in the hotel industry, travel industry, or civil service, but I think that the teachers gave me advice that was sympathetic to each person.

During the actual interview, I was often asked in depth about my studies of regional revitalization and the map-making of Shukugawa and Kuraen, and I got the impression that the interviewers were interested in my experience of creating something together with a large group of people. Some people were also interested in the fact that I studied psychology in addition to tourism subjects, and I realized that the "crossover" of Otemae University itself would be a strong asset in the interview.

I studied regional revitalization in university, so after graduating, I got a job as a domestic flight attendant for a regional airline. After working there for two years, I wanted to spread the good things about Japan, including its regional areas, overseas and broaden the scope of my work, so I changed jobs to a Japanese airline that also handles international flights.
My goal is to become a "chief purser" (senior cabin attendant), the person in charge of cabin operations. I am currently studying to obtain the chief purser's assistant qualification, which is a first step towards that goal. I want to be a "person without standards" who is not bound by stereotypes, and I want to be someone who can support people at work, regardless of their position. The reason I thought this is because my homeroom teacher was someone who presented various solutions and reached out to others. He is the person I aspire to be, both as a member of society and as a person.
While I have made progress in my career and my motivation has increased, there are also days when I feel frustrated because I cannot meet the needs of my customers, and days when I feel exhausted from the huge amount of study required to obtain qualifications. However, when I think that I am able to do this job now thanks to the support I received from many people at university, I naturally feel full of energy. Throughout my four years at university, I felt strongly that "you should go to a school where you can find what you want to be, not what you can become." It was because of this university that I was able to find and achieve my dreams. I believe that studying at Otemae University will surely expand the possibilities for those who have dreams or are looking for their dreams.