Hula Bowl offers graduate student national networking opportunities

Hula Bowl offers graduate student national networking opportunities

Northwest Missouri State University student Maho Kawaguchi traded snowy Missouri for a trip to the Sunshine State during winter break to participate in a special opportunity.

Kawaguchi, a graduate student from Tokyo pursuing a degree in applied health and sports science, traveled to DeLand, Florida, to join the Hula Bowl staff as part of its football operations team Jan. 4-10.

The Hula Bowl is a college football all-star game that features 120 outstanding senior athletes. Most players are invited from the NCAA, but international players from Japan and Canada also participate. In addition, Polynesian players with historic ties to the islands of Hawaii, where the Hula Bowl originated, are included in the game.

The six-day experience was brief, but Kawaguchi said she gained valuable networking opportunities and self-awareness.

"We're a Division II team, and it's not common or popular to get opportunities to work with NFL coaches and head coaches like Jon Gruden," Kawaguchi said. "I got to know how much skill I have and the way I am, and how I can connect with people through football, because everybody came from all over the United States."

Kawaguchi worked closely with NFL coaches, players and staff to support daily operations. Her responsibilities included assisting with uniform setup, compiling offensive playbooks, creating event participant lists and preparing quarterback wristband play sheets. She consistently adjusted to changing priorities and stepped in to support multiple departments as needed.

"The highlight was that there were many people who were professional, like NFL staff and equipment directors and football operations from one of the universities," Kawaguchi said. "I could see how people work, even though we haven't been working together for a long time. I could show them what I do, too. It was a pretty unique experience."

Before coming to Northwest, Kawaguchi completed her bachelor's degree in journalism at Senshu University in Tokyo, studied English at Brock University in Ontario, Canada, and earned a master's degree in sports, Olympic studies, teaching, coaching and Japanese culture from the University of Tsukuba online. While studying in Canada, she got the desire to move to the United States.

"During that time, I got the opportunity to watch an NFL game in New York City," Kawaguchi said. "And I realized, I was working in football, and what I did was all brought up here. In Japan, it's not common making money through football. I was standing in the game, and I realized, what if I do the same thing in the United States?"

Kawaguchi next completed an apprenticeship in the athletic department at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and made her decision to move to the United States. Her mentor, Dr. Shinichi Nagata, graduated with his master's degree from Northwest in 2015.

After returning to Japan briefly, she made a connection with Terry Long, the former director of Northwest's School of Health Science and Wellness, who offered her a graduate assistantship.

Kawaguchi now works as a graduate assistant in the School and serves as a student video assistant for the Northwest football team. One of her favorite parts of being a Bearcat is connecting with Northwest faculty.

"When I came to Northwest, it really opened the next door to the football field as my long-term career goal," Kawaguchi said. "I was really happy to come here because the professors are so supportive."