Some students travel thousands of miles from everything they know for excitement, cultural flavor or ambition. Then again, some students come to WKU, Bowling Green, Kentucky. Sophomore Emi Koike, 20, said she just graduated from her Tokyo elementary school when her parents told her and her sister, Anri, 22, that their family was moving to New York. Though they expected to return eventually, after two years the Koike family members were forced to leave their New Jersey home and return to Tokyo when their visas expired. While back in Tokyo schools, Koike said she was introduced to a new realm of athleticism and competition-cheerleading. She said she practiced about 15 hours a week. While she focused on cheerleading and finished her secondary education in Tokyo, Koike's mother and sister moved back to the United States as permanent residents. It would be four years before she and her father could rejoin their family in New Jersey. Though she was busy with school, upon her return to the United States she came to doubt her place in New Jersey. "I didn't like it," Koike said. "Too many Asian people. It's so close to New York. I only see some Americans. Everybody's immigrated. I wanted to learn English as fast as I can, so I wanted to be separated from my mom and my sister so I could learn language faster." That desire along with the dream to be on an American college dance team, brought Koike to Western Kentucky University last summer. She began improving her English at the English as a Second Language International Program at Cherry Hall while she studied textiles. "I didn't even want to go to college in Japan and do dance or cheer. I wanted to come to the United States and be on the team," Koike said. Koike said she feels like she expresses herself when she dances. She said making the dance team is the most exciting part of coming to the United States. Pic summary. Tokyo Sophomore Emi Koike concentrates on learning new moves to practice for the upcoming varsity dance team tryouts. Koike is currently on Western´s new junior varsity dance team. "She is quiet, but she works really hard and is always pushing to the max," said junior varsity coach Amy Kempf.

Koike, Emi - Japan