This summer, Hacarus accepted an intern from America. I asked him about his life in Kyoto and work at Hacarus.

Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
My name is Harvey Cornell, and I was born in the state of Texas in the United States. I am currently 19 and about to head into my second year of university at the University of Texas at Austin, where I am pursuing a finance major.

What made you choose to intern at a Japanese company?
I chose to intern at a Japanese company because I wanted to further my knowledge of the language and also gain work experience. I also thought that this would be a unique opportunity to broaden my perspective by interacting with another culture. I think working in an international setting builds up some strong soft skills that end up being rather useful. Interacting with people from different backgrounds means you have to learn to adapt and try to understand things from another vantage point.

What do you personally think about Hacarus after working here? (Are there any special characteristics you feel Hacarus has?)
Hacarus is interesting because they are involved in both the technology and healthcare spaces, both industries of which I am interested in. I also think that having a variety of people from a number of different countries creates a dynamic and fun atmosphere. We have workers from Japan, the Philippines, Germany, and America (myself). I feel that this diversity makes the office more energetic. In addition, working in a startup can be exciting due to the fast-paced nature of the workplace and the variety of tasks assigned to you. It feels as if you are constantly moving forward, and the progress is quite tangible.

Can you tell me about your future vision?
In the future, I want to work in the financial world, but am open to a number of careers there. Ideally, I would enjoy a career where I am able to combine my love for the financial markets with my love of the Japanese language. I think working at Hacarus has furthered my interest in both the healthcare and tech scenes, and so I would also be eager to work in a capacity in which I have interaction with these fields.

What impressed you the most about working at Hacarus?
The thing I like the most about my job at Hacarus is that I am able to work on a wide variety of tasks. This allows me to always have something new to do and lets me build a diverse skill set. I also enjoy the fact that I have the chance to work side by side with the CEO, CTO, and other members of the office.

What do you think about the environment of a startup company? And what did kind of impression did you get from Hacarus?
I find the start-up environment stimulating because the employees all bring their own perspective. For example, I come from America, but there also many Japanese workers, a German employee, and a team in the Philippines. In addition, some have engineering or coding backgrounds, while others have business facing experience, and there is even an employee with a background in health.

Did you feel any differences between companies in the US and Japan?
While I think there may be general differences between US and Japanese companies, I find Hacarus very accessible for an American. It may be due to the start-up culture, but Hacarus is generally very open and western feeling in nature. There may be small differences, but they are nothing that takes away from the workplace.

Can you tell me your experience in Japan, outside of work?
Outside of work, I have had the opportunity to visit a number of notable cultural sites including Miyajima Jinja in Hiroshima. I have also recently been to Nara where I was able to see the great Buddha and feed deer. In addition, I have hiked through Fushimi Inari’s torii, been through the bamboo forests of Arashiyama, and seen Kinkaku-ji. Not only have I been able to see many historical sites of cultural importance, but I have also experienced many different Japanese traditions such as flower and tea ceremony as well as meditation. While I have been able to have many different experiences, my time here was short and I hope to eventually come back to have many more in the future.