In our alumni spotlight series, learn about Harvard graduates' most meaningful experiences from college, and how Harvard impacted their professional and personal paths after graduation.
Hometown & Current City: Colorado Springs, Colorado; Tokyo, Japan
House Affiliation: Pforzheimer
Concentration and Secondary Field: Comparative Study of Religion
Current Job Title/Company or organization: Comedian and Commentator
What was your professional path after college? After graduating, I moved to Japan for one year to teach English and learn Japanese. One year turned into two. In year three, I decided to pursue my dream of becoming a Hollywood actor by moving to Tokyo. A year later, I met my comedy partner and started doing Manzai (2-person Japanese comedy). Now, over 30 years later, I'm something of a fixture (like a faucet?) in Japanese entertainment, doing comedy, commentary, hosting TV shows, and even acting on occasion. I write books and columns, report on food, travel, war zones, teach college, interview global celebrities and domestic politicians and basically spend everyday way over my head.
What fills your time now? Professionally and otherwise? Everyday brings something new. I travel around the country doing speaking gigs and reporting. I might do a radio show in the morning, a TV show at night and a magazine interview or two in between. The gaps in my schedule are filled with ping pong and craft beer. It's an amazing life and I'm lucky to be here.
How did your academic experience at Harvard guide you in your post-grad pursuits? The constant intellectual stimulation (mostly from arguing with my roommates at all hours) was a great foundation for my role as commentator these days. I would guess I use more information from the Core Curriculum than from more specialized classes.
What was a favorite class you took and why? I don't remember the real name, but "Heroes for Zeroes" as we called the class on Greek Classics was outstanding. The lectures were like individual works of art, and almost always ended with applause in appreciation of the Professor's performance.
What were you involved in extracurricularly? Glee Club, Glee Club Lite, Men's Volleyball, and Harvard Summer Theater.
How did your extracurricular activities impact your Harvard experience? And have they had an impact on your post-grad life? They were great! Some of my best friends I met through the Glee Club and it actually paid for my ticket to Japan (on an Asia Tour). The time on stage singing and acting led directly (if intercontinentally) to my current job. I still play and coach volleyball, too.
What is a favorite memory of Harvard House life? My roommates and I had a party every Wednesday night, starting at midnight, from the first week of Freshman Week until the day before Graduation. We called it Hump Night (to celebrate getting over the hump of the school week). At Hump Night, I met a girlfriend, had my first beer, made a deep personal cross-cultural breakthrough, and basically grew up a little bit at a time.
What is your favorite Harvard tradition and why? Freshman week. What a way to come together!
What advice do you have for someone applying to college? Take a deep breath and relax. Your life does not actually hinge on this. But good luck, anyway!