Kei Takazawa (right) and Kie Takazawa ’17 (left) were occasionally bullied for their mixed ethnic background during their childhood in Japan. Raised with an American mother and Japanese father, the two siblings banded together through a “challenging” move to California in 2010 and, for the past two years, on Wheaton’s campus.

“Racial problems have always been interesting to me,” Kei says. “The biggest highlight of Wheaton is that there are a lot of people asking, ‘How can we keep improving?’ I think that’s a really important attitude to have.”

Through involvement with Wheaton’s Shalom Community, Kei has been able to dialogue about topics of racial tension and meet “all different kinds of people.”

Kie agrees that the College’s Christ-centered mission and ability to connect with many different kinds of people are the greatest gifts that come from being a multicultural student at Wheaton.

“Being able to be a part of the diversity in this world is like a taste of heaven,” Kie says. “I still fight with spiritual, emotional, and physical struggles, but have attained valuable relationships with people at Wheaton who I know will have my back.”