June 23, 2021
Kenta Sato found his way to Shawnee State University through baseball. A native of Japan, Sato first played internationally at another university in Ohio, before returning to his home country early in his college years. A friend of his was in the process of transferring to SSU and connected Sato with then SSU Assistant Coach Chris Moore whom he had already met.
“Asking ‘why baseball’ to me is like asking ‘why do you like cake?’” he said of his love of the sport. “At my previous university, I was taking baseball for granted. I went back to Japan for a little while and then learned that Coach Moore was at Shawnee State. I had played for him in a summer league and knew I could trust him, so when he offered me a spot on the team I went for it. I knew my coach and teammates would help get me where I wanted to go.”
At SSU, Sato found his place on more than just the baseball team. A Sports Studies major and a student worker for the Center for International Programs & Study Abroad (CIPSA), he spent time connecting with other international students and creating a culture at the university for them.
“We would try and make the international students’ lives easy while they were in this different country,” he said. “We would introduce their culture and country to local students to help spread awareness of their traditions and educate them. We just helped them get comfortable at SSU as well as in the United States. It was a lot of fun.”
Through CIPSA, Sato found a way to connect not only with his teammates but the different cultures represented throughout the university.
“Shawnee is a great place to go,” he said. “What I like most is the diversity there. When you study abroad, you want to experience the different culture and other people, which is what Shawnee can give international students.”
After graduating from SSU, Sato spent time traveling the world playing baseball for the first part of his career including in the Swedish Elitserien league where he was part of the team to who won the Swedish Elitserien Championship. After his baseball career, he returned to Japan to help his family’s business. In his role, he took on learning more about business aspects, including information technology. He invested more of his time learning about IT before realizing he could pursue that field as a career.
“I think what helps me the most is the work ethic,” he said on how his major relates to his current career. “Yeah, Sports Studies sounds easy to some people, but it was challenging. I had to push myself through my classes and that skills helps me everywhere I go.”
Kenta Sato currently works as an Associate Solutions Architect at Amazon Web Services in Japan. He resides in Tokyo with his wife Eri and their two daughters Nagisa (3) and Hana (1).
This spotlight is part of an ongoing series by the SSU Alumni Association in celebration of the university’s 35 Years milestone. To learn more about alumni making a difference in their careers, visit shawneestatealumni.com for more features.