On Wednesday, November 12, 2025, a guest lecture was held for second-year students in the IM Course at Ritsumeikan Uji Senior High School as part of the “IM Sogo” class.

For this lecture, we welcomed Ms. Amane Sugimoto, a 2017 graduate of the IM Course. After graduating from high school, Ms. Sugimoto enrolled in the School of International Liberal Studies at Waseda University and is now employed at Microsoft. During the lecture, she spoke about how her experiences and learning in the IM Course have connected to his present career path, and how she made decisions about his future along the way.

In high school, Ms. Sugimoto aspired to work for the United Nations and contribute to world peace. Through the IM Course’s inquiry-based subject “Global Leadership Studies (GLS),” she developed a strong interest in working with developing countries. At university, she actively chose classes and activities related to international development. Her desire to help build an equitable society remained unchanged, and she decided to pursue that goal through the power of IT—leading to her current role. Reflecting on her journey, she shared a message: “The core of what I want to do hasn’t changed since high school. There isn’t just one way to achieve that core goal.”

When students think about career paths, they often try to link them to a specific job or field. However, this lecture served as an opportunity to reexamine the more fundamental question of “what do I want to do?” rather than “how do I get there?”

Student Learning and Reflections

In their reflections, many students shared that they realized the importance of maintaining a broad perspective.

Several students also expressed feeling inspired by Ms. Sugimoto’s words.

• “I realized that speaking out about what I want to do is important. Until now, I kept thinking about what might happen if I failed, but from now on, I want to express my goals more openly.”

What is ‘IM Sogo’?

In the IM Course, all students spend one year studying abroad during their first or second year of high school. Upon returning, they participate in a weekly class called “IM Sogo,” where they reflect on their study abroad experiences and consider their future paths. This semester’s theme is “Expand Your Horizons”. As part of this theme, graduates of the IM Course and professionals from various fields are invited as guest speakers to help students broaden their perspectives and envision their futures.