Honoring Scholarship and Service: SUA Students Receive Prestigious 2025 Academic Awards

• Campus News

The recipients of Soka University of America's top academic honors - the Ikeda Scholarship, the John D. Montgomery Scholarship, the Soka Merit Award, and the Academic Excellence Award - met with President Ed Feasel, Dean of Students Hyon Moon, and Dean of Faculty Robert Hamersley and took a commemorative photo on September 19 in Founders Hall.

The Ikeda Scholarship, SUA's most prestigious academic award, covers full tuition, room, and board. The scholarship is presented annually to a second-, third-, and fourth-year student.

The John D. Montgomery Scholarship is a $20,000 award given annually to a student for academic excellence and contributing to the university. The award honors the late Dr. Montgomery, a member of the Board of Trustees who helped guide SUA from its inception until his death in 2008. Montgomery also served as director of the Pacific Basin Research Center at SUA and director of the Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University.

Ikeda Scholarship

• Yumiko Kasai '28
• Haruna Takasago '27
• Hiroshi Nonaka '26

John D. Montgomery Scholarship

• Maya Kubota '27

Soka Merit Awards

This year's Soka Merit Award covers $5,000 in tuition and was presented to three students in the Classes of 2026, 2027, and 2028.

Class of 2028

• Gabriella Clouse
• Taiho Higaki
• Uyen Pham

Class of 2027

• Chi Phan
• Sampson Apenteng Osei
• Miki Suguri

Class of 2026

• Miiru Goto
• Keito Tsuji
• Masashiro Uchida

Academic Excellence Awards

Academic Excellence Awards were presented in four categories. Faculty members nominated students for the awards, which were granted to undergraduate students who excel in the following areas.

• Excellence in Academics: Masashiro Uchida '26
• Excellence in Creative Arts: Emily Yuko Hashimoto '27
• Excellence in Mentoring: Masashiro Uchida '26
• Excellence in Research: Hiroshi Nonaka '26
• Excellence in Community Service: Carolina Aguero-Salas '26