After nearly two weeks in Japan, students in SJMC Japan gathered one more time on Friday and showcased their wrap-up Instagram reels and summarized their best work in the program.
Thirteen undergraduate students, representing all the majors in Texas State’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication (and one non-major who achieved honorary major status!), also reflected on their time in Japan and what it meant to them academically, professionally and personally. Check out their personal travel essays, now published on the class website.
You can also relive the journey, experiences and memories in Japan by reading the daily blog posts on the class website.
And all Tokyo, Hiroshima and Kyoto feature stories are also published on the website.
Much of the success of the program can be attributed to graduate assistant extraordinaire Angie Vasquez, who managed all content on the website and on Instagram while also mentoring and coaching the undergraduate students.
But there’s more! Vasquez also earned credit in two graduate courses (global media systems and global strategic communication practices), writing two feature stories – one comparing the Wall Street Journal Tokyo bureau with the Kyoto Shimbun and the other examining the Yuri Group, an energy-based consulting firm that provides news and analysis for subscribers. In addition, she created two 360° videos – one set at Hasedera Temple and one about Daibutsu (the Great Buddha), both in Kamakura. She also created a 360 video-tour of Meiji Jingu, a popular and important shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken, who modernized Japan in the Meiji Restoration (1868-1889).
In addition, Vasquez created the promotional video that we’ll use to recruit students for SJMC Japan 2026!
This concludes SJMC Japan 2025! We thank those who followed our journey on this website and on our Instagram account. We hope you learned more about Tokyo, Hiroshima and Kyoto, along with Japanese customs.
All student work can be found using the tabs on the website homepage or, alternatively, by going to each student creator’s page, linked below.
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