About us
A Letter From Benefactor Douglas Tashiro
November 12, 2015
The Shig Akagi Education Fund (SAEF) is inspired by the life of my Uncle Shigeru (Shig) Akagi. Shig grew up in the town of Crowley Colorado as a farmer. Unfortunately he went through grammer and high school during the U.S. Depression of the 1930s. Due to the lack of funds and having a part in the basic financial support of the family, he was unable to reap the benefit of any formal education beyond high school.
Having spent a lot of time with Uncle Shig, I feel that he had the best mind in the family. I believe that he wanted to go to college, but his circumstances would not allow it. Despite this he used his basic intelligence to help him to a successful farming career. He later became a leader in the area of raising sugar beets. He was largely responsible for getting farmers in the Hereford, Texas area to begin to raise sugar beets and got a processing plant started in the area. As my Uncle Elden Tanaka always preached, common sense (horse sense) and hard work are always more important to your success than what anyone can teach you in school. Shig certainly used his to glean a successful career out of a very difficult environment.
The downside of Shig’s inability to attend college is that he did not have a wide choice of opportunities that he could pursue. I often wonder what he would have done had he had that choice. The mission statement of SAEF is to provide that “choice” for prospective students by providing scholarship funds to attend the college or vocational school of their choosing. This would provide the best opportunity for the student to have a career that they want. It is certainly not a guarantee of success, but it will provide the choice and opportunity to have a successful career.
The recipients of the SAEF scholarship should keep in mind that not everyone has the opportunity to experience higher education. That this gift is to be backed up by hard work and the exercise of responsibility that was exemplified by the way Shig lived his life. This fund is in honor of the life that he led.