Senior Hitoki Okamoto, Homecoming court candidate for 2012, is locally attending Monroe High School with a unique Japanese heritage. Due to his father’s work, Okamoto has been traveling back and forth from Japan and America.

Japanese has been Okamoto’s only language since birth until the age of five. However, due to his father’s work circumstances, he attended school throughout the Monroe Public Schools System until 10. Additionally, Okamoto continues to keep up with his own language by attending Saturday classes in a school located in Novi, Michigan, that offers the advantage of Japanese courses.

“I’ve been going to Saturday school since I was four,” said Okamoto as a bilingual individual.

Okamoto headed back to Hiroshima, Japan, when he was 10 as another result of his father’s working condition.

“I went back when I was 10, and then came back when I was 12, so it’s been 10 years pretty much,” Okamoto said.

After attending school at his hometown, he reunites with his friends in America after two years of time spent in Japan. Okamoto has been in Monroe since and will look forward to graduating with the rest of his class next spring.

With the advantage of being bilingual, Okamoto is going to have a bright future ahead of him. He hopes his language skills will definitely give him a bigger chance in his career.