Risako Kikuchi, a third-year field hockey player at Waseda University, was one of the first athletes in the Being ALIVE Japan (BAJ) leadership program. In her first year, she led multiple hospital sport programs with BAJ, organized the inaugural Waseda Sports Festival, and paired her team with the TEAMMATES program—the first at Waseda to do so. When asked what the most meaningful part of her experience has been, she said that it’s “the children who always inspire me, the adults I admire and aspire to be like, and the fellows who are making a difference through activities with their teammates and universities.” In the BAJ leadership program, she brings together families, athletes, teams, and administration. Through this multi-faceted role, she has grown as a leader and learned that “BAJ’s programs are life-changing for everyone involved.” As Risako continues to expand and improve BAJ in new ways, she emphasizes, “Above all, I want to say how proud and grateful I am to be a Being ALIVE fellow. Being part of this community has been a wonderful experience, and I truly enjoy all of Being ALIVE’s programs. I hope to continue as a fellow for years to come.” 

The BAJ leadership program empowers student-athletes to represent BAJ on their campuses and in their communities, thereby reaching more children across Japan. There have been eight total fellows since the program began in 2025. Each fellow is advised by a professional mentor to carry out action projects that increase the quality of existing BAJ programs at their school and develop new initiatives to meet the needs of their communities. Fellows grow as leaders through workshops in Japan and in the U.S. at a 3-day leadership summit hosted by Team IMPACT.

Team IMPACT matches children facing serious illness and disability with college sports teams for two years, creating a long-term, life-changing experience for everyone involved. Since 2011, Team IMPACT has grown into 50 states in the U.S., matched over 4,500 children, worked with nearly 900 college campuses, and engaged more than 110,000 student-athletes.

In 2018, Team IMPACT launched their fellowship program to allow student-athletes the opportunity to increase their impact. In the last eight years, this program has rapidly grown across the country and been instrumental in Team IMPACT’s expansion.