Andrew Franco

Sayu Furukawa

Tamaki Konishi

Anthony Ramirez

The Montebello-Ashiya Sister City Association (MASCA) bid a hearty bon voyage to the two 2025 student ambassadors from Montebello when they departed on July 16 and arrived in Japan the following day to begin their three-week stay with host families in Ashiya City in Hyogo Prefecture, where they will experience Japanese society, culture, customs and daily life.

Andrew Franco and Anthony Ramirez were chosen after the MASCA selection committee reviewed their applications and conducted interviews with the students and their parents.

Anthony graduated from Montebello High School in June and was in the Mighty Oiler Marching band, concert band, choir ensemble, Peer Health Advocate Ambassador, and Mental Health Ambassador programs. He will attend East Los Angeles College this fall and aspires to transfer to USC for mechanical engineering studies.

“I would love to learn their (Ashiya) different lifestyle compared to ours, their traditions, their cultural practices and places, their everyday life, things they do for fun, the Japanese language, and many, many more things I would love to learn about,” he said.

Andrew is a rising senior this fall at Montebello High School. He is the captain of the golf team and is involved with the Avid program that focuses on preparing students for college as well as the “Oiler TV” weekly campus broadcast. His future goal is to attend California Film Institute to learn to make movies and television shows and become a director.

Andrew shared, “I hope I can learn about the values and lifestyles of Ashiya residents to hopefully discover the similarities and differences in our lives. I want to know what they do for fun, what they like to eat, where they hang out and so much more.”
Meanwhile, Ashiya Cosmopolitan Association (ACA) will be sending their pair of 2025 student ambassadors to Montebello on July 23. Proudly representing ACA are Sayu Furukawa and Tamaki Konishi, who will live with Montebello host families until they depart three weeks later on Aug. 13.

Sayu is a second-year student at Fukiai High School in nearby Kobe. Her hobbies are reading books and listening to American and Japanese pop. She is interested in learning foreign languages and is self-taught in Spanish, German and Tagalog.

“There are many places I want to visit during my stay in America,” she said. “I want to feel the vibe in Montebello and find the differences from Ashiya. I can’t wait to see you in July!”

Tamaki is in his second year at Doshisha High School in Kyoto and does cross-country skiing with the Ski Club. His hobbies are video editing and talking to people. He’s interested in the behind-the-scenes side of entertainment, so would like to experience this at Disneyland and Universal Studios.

Tamaki expressed, “I’m really looking forward to going to Montebello this summer! I’m also looking forward to visiting the City Hall and fire station in Montebello and interacting with the people of Montebello. I’d like to try different things in the three weeks! I’m looking forward to meeting you.”

The ACA student ambassadors will have tours of Montebello City Hall, the police and fire departments, be presented at a City Council meeting, visit sites in Montebello bearing the Ashiya title, and tour Little Tokyo, just to name a few activities.

The MASCA and ACA students will also be in the Nisei Week Grand Parade on Aug. 10.

MASCA host ambassadors, Miya Espinoza and Maximus Almeida, will accompany Sayu and Tamaki during the three weeks. These four ambassadors will formally be introduced to the community at the welcome potluck on Thursday, July 24 , from 6 to 9 p.m. at Montebello City Hall, 1600 W. Beverly Blvd. All are welcome to attend; bring a dish to share.

In 1961, Montebello and Ashiya signed an international agreement as part of the People-to-People Student Ambassador Program initiated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956. Their respective sister-city organizations created the Student Ambassador Program in 1964 and have been exchanging two high school or college students nearly every summer.

MASCA is a nonprofit community organization and donations are welcome. For information on MASCA and the activities planned for the ACA student ambassadors while in Montebello, contact Emma Delgado, president of MASCA, at (562) 477-0260 or emmadelgado0219@ gmail.com.

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