We recently sat down with former Luce Scholars to answer frequently asked questions about the Program.
Nihaal Rahman was a Luce Scholar in 2021-2022. He spent the year in Japan.
As a Luce Scholar, Nihaal Rahman worked with the National Center for Child Health and Development (NCCHD) in Tokyo, Japan, and the Youth and Young Adult Development Lab at Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea. Through these placements, he was able to work on projects at the intersections of children’s health and health equity across international and cultural borders.
Advice for Future Luce Scholars
“Say yes to everything. Try to do something new, even if you’re really bad it. I think some of my favorite stories are from doing things I’ll never do again, but I’m happy to have tried them.”
Nihaal posted in a Tokyo hiking Facebook group looking for walking buddies. He ended up meeting the English translator of some of his and the world’s favorite Japanese authors. She invited Nihaal to hike behind the trails of her house, where they talked about the art of translation and storytelling in a different language.
What are the Characteristics of a Luce Scholar?
“Being a Luce Scholar is so different for everyone, but for me, it was having to figure out how to get an apartment in a language I don’t speak. Furnish it. Work a job I’ve never worked before. Meet people in a city I’ve never lived in before.” Nihaal admits that although these things may appear simple, to do them across the world in a place you’ve never been is both incredibly challenging and rewarding. “If I can do that in my Luce year, I can do that anywhere else I go from here on out.”
Rahman goes on to identify leadership as an important quality in a Luce Scholar. “I think leadership is no different than being led. I think it’s about being authentic to who you are and doing your best with the people you’re with, irrespective of formal or informal positions.”
If not for Luce…
“I would not have learned how to scuba dive, I would not have made some of my lifelong friends, I would not be teaching in Japan as a pseudo professor, gotten into film/photography, the list goes on and on.”
When I think about my Luce year…
“I think about so much. Memories of people I’ve met, places I’ve been… I have never felt like I’ve lived more than during my Luce year.”
