J.LIVE Semifinalists 2020

The video submissions have been judged by the first panel of judges. The following 18 semifinalists have been selected. Congratulations to all!

(Listed in alphabetical order by last name)

High School Division

  • Emily Coyne, Lake Braddock Secondary School, Virginia  (Ms. Yuki Melvin)
  • Marisa Guerrero, Lake Braddock Secondary School,Virginia (Ms. Yuki Melvin)
  • Richik Haldar, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Virginia (Mr. Koji Otani)
  • Rebekah Nix, Huntington High School, West Virginia (Dr. Natsuki Fukunaga Anderson)
  • Emily Ruber, Washington Japanese Heritage Center, Washington, D.C. / Patriot High School, Virginia (Ms. Mina Seat)
  • Aeris Thompson, Globalize DC, Washington, D.C. / Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Washington, D.C. (Ms. Yoko Eshita)

College Division I

  • Ian Campbell, University of Cincinnati (Professor Noriko Fujioka-Ito)
  • Xiajun Cao, University of California, San Diego (Professor Junko Simpson)
  • Alex Kalbach, University of Pennsylvania (Professor Megumu Tamura)
  • Hannah Meeks, Rice University (Professor Hiromi Takayama)
  • Tosin Olorunsola, The University of Texas, San Antonio (Professor Makiko Fukuda)
  • Xueyuan Wang, Rice University (Professor Hiromi Takayama)

College Division II

  • Jasmine Brooks, American University (Professor Akane Shirata)
  • Eboni Goar, University of Georgia (Professor Yuki Sasaki-Caldwell)
  • Jackson Lawson, College of William and Mary (Professor Akiko Kitamura)
  • Minori Sekine, American University (Professor Akane Shirata)
  • Lorenz Vargas, George Washington University (Professor Shoko Hamano)
  • Willow Wilkes, University of Pennsylvania (Professor Tomoko Takami)

The semifinalists' videos are now being judged by the second panel of judges. In addition, the semifinalists have been asked to provide a one-minute video message (in Japanese) to the second panel of judges as to what message they would like to convey at the J.LIVE Talk 2020 Final Round. Three finalists will be selected from each category and invited to participate in the Final Round.