Miki Shibata, a senior at Hayes Freedom High School (HFHS), is a foreign exchange student from Japan who enrolled in the journalism program at Camas High School (CHS) during the 2025-26 school year. She has three published articles on the Camasonian.
Shibata had spent 5 months in the United States as a foreign exchange student prior to joining the journalism class. Her time in the country helped her use of English grow further while being around native speakers. In the second semester of the school year, she was presented with the opportunity to join a class that prioritized the writing portion of the language: journalism.
Her desire to learn more about the language, along with conversations with her host family, encouraged her to enroll into journalism as a way to improve her understanding of the English language.
“I thought it [would be] good for my English skills and reading skills, so I jumped into journalism,” Shibata said. “As I worked harder, I knew I could do it because I’m learning English.”
The first article Shibata worked on was an op-ed about the differences between Japanese and American high schools. It began as a way for her to connect her international experiences from Japan to the United States while working on her writing skills and introducing her to a journalistic style of writing.
Shibata’s writing saw fast growth over the months she had spent in the class. Her second article, a feature on HFHS, was published about two months after her first one. Similarly, she described the characteristics about HFHS that made it differ from other high schools such as CHS.
Between the two articles, she was also simultaneously working on several other articles to keep up with the rest of the class. As she continued to write, Shibata received consistent feedback and constructive criticism that she always used the next day to further refine her articles.
“Miki is such a hardworking and tenacious person,” junior Elly Jensen, the assistant editor-in-chief of the Camasonian, said. “When she gets feedback, she applies it so well. She’s already such a skilled writer and brings a perspective to our class that I have loved so much.”
For Shibata, it was rewarding to be able to improve her writing throughout her time in the journalism class.
“Articles that I have finished writing and that have been published just built my confidence,” Shibata said. “When I see my work visually, I can see my growth. [My two published articles] are super different. The words that I used are different, [as well as] my grammar and organization.”
Kate Gooding, the journalism teacher and advisor, invited Shibata to the class because of the safe environment it provided to encourage foreign exchange students to interact with the community.
“Miki is so sweet and she’s always positive, she does all of her work, and tries her best with the language barrier to write stories that are interesting and relevant, so I’m very happy she’s been a part of our community this year,” Gooding said.
Alongside being a journalist for the Camasonian, Shibata is a CHS band student and plays the saxophone. Her musicality was a major interest that helped her bond with her host family.
“We both are in band, [and] we both love jazz, so we listen to jazz,” junior Miriam Shellman, Shibata’s host sister, said. “She also shares jazz music from Japanese creators [with me].”
This is not the only time Shibata has been a foreign exchange student in the United States. Her first experience was as a student in Pennsylvania three years ago for a month. Back then, she had about three years of knowledge of the English language. However, she was able to bond with her host family through animals.
“I live in the countryside in Japan,” Shibata said. “When I stayed in Pennsylvania, [the land was] huge. [My host family] had so many animals, and I love animals, and my host family was so friendly [about it].”
Some of the most important things Shibata learned when living in the United States for the first time were about the culture and communicating with other English speakers. Her ability to learn in the country firsthand inspired her to return to the country once again as a foreign exchange student. With her newfound knowledge of the language, she was able to build even more friendships and connections with people as well as share more about herself and her personality.
“Miki takes things on with a very encouraging, optimistic look, even though she’s doing all these really hard things,” Shellman said. “She’s kind of [like] a Disney princess because when we go to church, all the little kids run up to her. She’s great with animals, too. She loves so freely, and she shares it with people.”
After reflecting on how much she has learned about the country and its primary language, Shibata realized that her overarching goal was to learn how to communicate with people in English, and that learning the foundation of the language came second.
“My purpose for this program is communicating with people,” Shibata said. “I don’t think my English is better than natives, but I have enough skills to survive in the United States. I jump into the conversation, try to communicate with people, and then make a connection. Improving English will always come after that.”
