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LUJ Holds Fall Ceremony for 2025 Graduates
Author and Actress Viola Davis once said that “all dreams are within reach. All you have to do is keep moving towards them.”
So it goes with our graduates, who have just taken a big step toward achieving their future goals.
On December 6, 2025, Lakeland University Japan held its winter graduation ceremony. Since it is on a trimester schedule, LUJ holds commencements in December, April, and August each year.
There were a few special guests for this winter ceremony, held on a Saturday afternoon, from 1 to 4pm in Muskie Hall.
The event, moderated by LUJ’s Associate Vice President, Charlie Stockman, started off with a welcome speech by Vice President Dr. Anderson Passos, and Dean Charles Laurier gave the commencement address.
Mr. Akifusa Iida, a representative from the Sumida-ku ward, delivered a commencement speech, as did Sumida Ward Councilor Ms. Noemi Inoue.
After Ms. Inoue’s thoughtful and considerate words came the presentation of degrees. One Bachelor of Arts graduate, Brock Romanoski, earned Summa Cum Laude honors for, earning a 3.8 GPA or higher.
Representing the class of 2025 was Associate of Arts graduate Sakura Ozawa, whose warm-hearted and insightful speech brought about smiles and applause: “[LUJ] may be small, but that is exactly what made our college life special. In this peaceful corner of Ryogoku, we saw each other almost every day. We passed each other in the hallways. We shared classrooms, shared thoughts, shared stress, and shared our midnight suffering before the paper deadline… [At LUJ] I learned not only academics, but resilience, patience, self-understanding, and the bond that comes from a small community.”
Photos are below, including pictures taken at the nearby Kyu-Yasuda garden, a short walk away from the LUJ campus building.
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