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Winter 2005

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Found in Translation
For Ben Sullivan, summer in Japan offered lessons in history and life

–Cathy Cohen ’82G




	Ben Sullivan ’07 takes a break from his busy academic schedule outside of the Durfee Conservatory. (photo by Ben Barnhart)

FOR BEN SULLIVAN, SUMMER in Japan offered lessons in history and life
Early summer, 2004. Ben Sullivan ’07 is on his first intercontinental flight. Bound for northern Japan, he is going to live with a host family on the island of Sapporo for five weeks while attending daily classes through UMass Amherst’s International Summer Program at Hokkaido University. The 14-hour flight gives him time to anticipate his arrival. “I’d been interested in Japan for a while, and had been learning the language,” says Sullivan. “Then we landed. It was like, ‘Wow, I’m here—this place I’ve read about and studied.’”

Back in Amherst this past fall, Ben elaborated on his summer experience while sitting in the garden of the Durfee Conservatory. Close by the small, quiet botanical oasis, a row of slender white birch trees provide luminous contrast to stonewalls, walkways, and wooden benches. The huge girth of a 137-year-old beech tree, with a mighty gnarled trunk, imparts a sense of place—and history.

Ben’s arrival at UMass Amherst has history, too. His extraordinary connections to both the campus and Hokkaido trace back 128 years. He is the great-great-great grandson of Dr. William Smith Clark, the first sitting president of UMass Amherst—then Massachusetts Agricultural College, or “Mass Aggie.” Clark forged a lasting bond between the campus and Hokkaido University, one that flourishes today.

Ben says he was mindful of this relationship. “Part of the reason I came here was because of the history and Clark’s influence on the school. I wanted to experience his influence in Amherst.”

In 1876, the Japanese government invited Clark to Hokkaido to teach, but above all to help shape the new Sapporo Agricultural College. It was to be modeled on the successful Mass Aggie. At the time, Clark had made his mark as a teacher of botany at Amherst College and as a founder of Mass Aggie. Today, he is widely honored and respected in Japan, where he is remembered for his profound influence on his students. When he left Hokkaido, his parting words, “Boys, be ambitious,” were taken to heart. Later, they were inscribed on a statue of Clark that now honors him in central Sapporo. “It’s a giant bronze statue, looming over the area,” says Sullivan. “Hordes of people go there every day. His impact on the island of Hokkaido, which was largely undeveloped, was enormous.”

Stephen Forrest, Japanese language and literature professor, accompanied Sullivan’s group to Sapporo. “The program offers a safe, controlled way to experience Japan up close,” says Forrest. “It makes it easier for students to return later for a full year.”
Sullivan plans to do just that. Now a junior majoring in Asian languages and literatures, Ben’s challenging summer of daily language classes, lectures and travel has helped shape his plans for the future. “I’d like to return to Japan next year and do an academic year there,” he says. “Right now, my goal is to become more fluent in the language and to eventually work in translation. I’m also interested in language learning and language development.” Sullivan’s interests are broad—including computer software and its connection to language learning, linguistics, and business—and his plans are ambitious. His great-great-great grandfather, William Smith Clark, wouldn’t have had it any other way.

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