This story is part of Georgetown Faces, a storytelling series that celebrates the beloved figures, unsung heroes and dedicated Hoyas who make our campus special.
By Ara Friedman
Mitch Kaneda’s first and only job has been at Georgetown. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“There is something in the air and in the water at Georgetown. There is something in people’s genuine hearts that makes our community one I have loved to be a part of,” he said.
Kaneda began his career on the Hilltop in 1994 as an assistant professor of economics and a faculty advisor. The Japanese native had just graduated with his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania.
Thirty years later, Kaneda is the senior associate dean and director of the SFS undergraduate program, where he leads a team of eight advising deans and two staff members and teaches International Trade, a core economics requirement in the School’s undergraduate curriculum.
As the senior associate dean, Kaneda finds deep satisfaction in advising students and tries to guide them with thoughtfulness.
“It is all about our students: Each and every one has enormous potential, and we get to work with them during their critical years of formation,” he says. “It doesn’t matter if they look perfect or are nursing broken wings — they are all precious individuals who deserve our care and attention during their journeys.”
Kaneda has also advised students outside the classroom, most notably, students on the Carroll Round, an annual undergraduate international economics conference at Georgetown, since its founding in 2001.
Learn more about Kaneda’s philosophy for student advising, why he visits Singapore every year and the time a dorm room dinner taught him something new.
Why I visit Singapore every year: I was born in Japan, but my family moved to Malaysia when I was little. I was then sent to a boarding school in Singapore where I spent six formative secondary school years attending the United World College of South East Asia (I have to mention this because among our students are UWC graduates from around the world, and we gather annually as UWC x Georgetown). I need to visit Singapore to satisfy my Singaporean food cravings: chicken rice, bak kut teh, har mee, dry wonton mee, laksa … it’s endless.
What sparked my interest in economics: I loved math and I wanted to do something societal. These naturally combined to economics, although I am not sure if many found my research with triple integrals interesting.
I remember my first day on the job: I sat in my empty office at the Economics Department, looked around, and told myself, Wow, I am a professor.
A few weeks later, the then-SFS Faculty Chair Jim Reardon-Anderson invited me to an Asian Studies faculty-student reception. I observed Jim going from one student to another, shaking their hands and introducing himself. This conveyed to me the respect that he afforded to students (and to everyone). He became my role model and mentor.
That time a dorm room dinner taught me something about my job: A sophomore in my International Trade class, Oleg Nodelman (SFS’99), came to me and said, ‘Professor, we would like to invite you to our dorm for dinner.’ Oleg cooked fajitas and I had a great time with his classmates. This made me realize that it is meaningful for me to dive into the students’ spheres, and become part of their college experience.
Now that my child is college-age, I catch myself acting like a parent to the students. Soft at times (‘Have my midterms become easier?’) but hard at times. (My answer to a student question was ‘You can figure it out on your own.’)
My approach to advising students: Advising is about getting to know the individual, customizing the guidance to their uniqueness and providing the tools to thrive on their own. This makes the interactions human, enabling our roles to be both challenging and rewarding. Once we have gained their trust, it becomes smoother to offer criticism.
Hearing my name in a New Student Convocation speech: Emily Oehlsen (SFS’13) won the McTighe Prize to deliver a speech at the 2012 New Student Convocation. As I was listening, she started to talk about how I advised her when she sought my feedback on her study abroad application essay two years prior. Reading her draft, I said something to the effect of, “The essay is not good if it can be written within a weekend by your smart roommate who does not know your major.”
Knowing her potential, I had pushed the bar up and critiqued her essay as if I were advising a doctoral student. I did not know until her senior-year speech that she left my office carrying tears in her eyes and headed straight to Lau to spend days there to refine her proposal. Not all criticisms go across, but it was Emily who converted it into motivation.
When I’m not working, you’ll find me: I like watching New York Yankees games, listening to classical music and reading The Economist. I like air travel and my favorite movie is Forrest Gump.
What keeps me coming back to Georgetown: I love my team members. It has been an enormous privilege to be able to work with such talented, passionate, caring, genuine and diverse colleagues while nurturing our common objective to support our students’ learning and formation. Also, there is something in the air and in the water at Georgetown. Yes, there are always challenges, but there is something in people’s genuine hearts that makes our community one I have loved to be a part of.
My duties and my community have gotten me out of bed for all these 30 years. And it is always a treat to end my workday being driven home by my GUTS bus driver friends.
What continues to inspire me: Every year, when 9/11 comes around, I talk to my International Trade class about Vanessa Kolpak (C’01), who was a student in the very same class in spring 2001. She started her job at the South Tower of the World Trade Center and did not make it out. I want to talk about Vanessa for me and for Georgetown to not forget about her, but also to tell the generations of students what a privilege it is to be living and learning every day and how much of a responsibility they have to shape a better future.
