Wilmington College senior Bradley Brown is looking forward to two major life milestones in the coming months. First, the Blanchester native will graduate in May with majors in economics and finance. Then, only days later, he will leave for a nine-week internship in Japan.
The Asian Rural Institute, in the northern Japanese area of Tochigi, invited Brown to join other young people from around the world in a communal living and learning environment. ARI is designed for the sharing of ideas related to sustainable community development practices and a peaceful life. He will assist on a working farm while his main job will be in ASI’s Admission and Recruitment Office, where he can use his economics and business background.
“I got really lucky with this position, a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” he said. “A communal lifestyle is a totally different culture from what I grew up with.”
Dr. Tanya Maus, director of the Peace Resource and Quaker Heritage Centers, said Brown is the fifth WC student since 2019 to be selected for the ARI internship. She described him as “an exciting candidate” to send to Japan because of his background in both agriculture and economics. “In terms of his economics major, he is very interested in communities that more equitably distribute resources and seek to become more sustainable by caring for the environment and eliminating waste.”
Also, Maus added that he hasn't had the opportunity to travel globally, “but is very excited to learn about the world as a way to understand his role in a global community and also provide a solid foundation for his career.”
Indeed, Brown noted he has left the United States only once — for an hour on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. An aspect of his upcoming adventure in Japan is the opportunity to work and live closely with peers from around the world, likely from Southern Hemisphere continents like Africa and South America. “I like hearing about people’s stories,” he said. “I’ve met a lot of interesting people at Wilmington College, including students from Africa and Scandinavia.”
Brown said such international experiences, along with his forthcoming trip to Japan, “align with the College’s values.”
Brown, who has a part-time job with Liberty Tax Service in Lebanon, said Wilmington College’s promise of a “well-rounded” experience will reach fruition with his summer internship. After that, he’ll be ready to start his career. “I’m graduating and going to Japan in the summer — that’s awesome!” he added. “I’m happy to leverage ARI, Liberty and what I’ve done at WC as a well-rounded experience in terms of contributing to a community.”
Maus noted that Brown’s travel, housing and lodging expenses are being covered by gifts to the Peace Resource Center’s recently launched International Student Travel Fund. She expects his experience will be as meaningful as that engaged in by previous interns from WC. They include Emma Marks and Julio Olivarez (2019), Hope Florea (2024) and DayJah Davis (2025).
“I can't wait to see what the summer holds for him, and I know he will share what he learns with the WC community when he returns,” she said.
Maus learned about the Asian Rural Institute through Steve Leeper, a nuclear disarmament advocate living in Hiroshima, Japan. He is the first non-Japanese person to serve at the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation. “I reached out to Steve because I was looking for a way to connect the interests of the College in agriculture and environmentalism with an ethos of peace and justice in Japan,” she said.
The Asian Rural Institute was founded in 1973 by Christian theologian Yoshihiro Takami, who established ARI with a sense of responsibility and reconciliation for Japanese military aggressions during World War II.