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Growing in countryside in Japan, I heard the word, Leadership, first time when I was 17 years old. Christine Violet Reed, later became my American God Mother, taught me then, this word called Leadership when I confided to her that I want to go to America.

Mrs. Reed said with her soft Southern accent voice, “Mark, in America, you can go to college when you can demonstrate excellent Scholarship, Citizenship and Leadership. When you qualify to be an Honor Student of graduating class of a high school, you will be granted a scholarship and enroll into most of college you want go to.” I did not have clear understanding of meaning of “Leadership”, then. Mrs. Reed continued, “A man of Leadership can commit himself to other and become an servant.
Two years later, though I had only $50 in my pocket, I was standing on the soil of America to attend a high school in Midwest to compete among American brothers and sisters. I fulfilled Mrs. Reed’s teaching and fulfilled the requirements of Scholarship, Citizenship, and Leadership and I graduated as an Honor Student.
Purdue University created an International Student Scholarship Fund and I was first recipient of that scholarship.

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私が始めて耳にしたLeadershipと言う言葉は、私が１７歳の時（１９６２）の時でした。後に私のアメリカの母となるクリスティーン・バイオレット・リードさんから聞いた言葉でした（注１）。
一文無しで身分も何もない少年の私がアメリカに留学したい思いをリードさんに告白したときのことでした。リードさんは優しい南部なまりの言葉で、「マーク、アメリカと言う国は身分や育ちに関係なく、ScholarshipとCitizenshipとLeadershipの三要素に優れている高校生は校長の推薦でアメリカの大学に入学できるのヨ。それも大学から授業料免除の奨学金をいただいてね。」
そのときの私には、Leadershipの意味は良くわからなかったけれど、リードさんは「Leadershipを持っている人は人のために自分を捧げることができる人のことを言うのヨ」と言って教えてくださいました。

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