Mark
Hamilton began his study of Japanese in the third form (Year 9) at Hamilton
Boys High School. He then enrolled in a four year Bachelor of Management
Studies (BMS) at the University of Waikato and completed a double major in
International Business and Japanese. Through the BMS Mark was able to
combine two of his interests – his managerial ambitions and the attraction
of a challenging and completely different language. He especially enjoyed
the challenge of learning an entirely new writing system that few New
Zealanders could read. The cultural aspects that particularly interested Mark were contemporary popular culture and business culture which also greatly differ to those of New Zealand.
Mark has found that studying Japanese has helped him with employment opportunities, such as his position in Fukuoka City Hall as a Coordinator for International Relations. He secured this position through the JET Programme and spent three years in Japan with Fukuoka City, in their International Affairs Department.
His knowledge of Japanese language and culture also helped Mark to secure his current position as International Marketing Coordinator at the University of Waikato.
Profiled by Renee Farrant, 2005