Learning a foreign language is highly encouraged to students from a young age. It opens doors and creates opportunities, ultimately preparing some for social, academic and job success. French and Spanish are taught here at De Soto High School, but when a student wants to learn a language that is not one of those, they must take initiative into their own hands. Senior Kaitlin Langton did just that, and as a result is practically fluent in Japanese.

Langton, who transferred from Mill Valley High School this year, has been learning and speaking Japanese for around seven years.

“It pretty much started with anime when I was going into middle school,” Langton said. “Then, I started to like how pretty the language was, and the culture, and that’s when I decided I wanted to start learning it.”

Since Japanese isn’t offered in any grade level in the De Soto School District, Langton found other means to learn the language.

“At first I went to find a tutor,” Langton said. “I’ve done Japanese through two tutors in middle school, and then in high school [and also] took as many online classes as I could.”

She took it a step further by enrolling in classes outside of school.

“My junior year of high school, I went to [Johnson County Community College] after school,” Langton said.  

JCCC isn’t offering a Japanese night class this semester, but Langton plans on continuing her learning next semester. In the meantime, she has an independent study block during a French class.

Langton’s dedication paid off this July when she got a very special opportunity to visit Japan for three weeks.

“I went through a society where I submitted an essay [and then] got interviewed,” Langton said. “It was really competitive. It started out with 12 people, and then it only dwindled down to four spots, and I was one of those four spots.”

Langton was one of four to represent Kansas City in Japan as a student. In Japan, she went to Kurashiki, Okayama, Kyoto and Hiroshima.

In Hiroshima, Langton got to see the remains of a building that was bombed during World War II. She also got to go to a museum there about the World War II bombings.

Along with the trip being very educational, Langton also enjoyed the fun side of traveling.

“We got to sing karaoke in karaoke rooms,” Langton said. “It’s almost like going to Main Event, but it’s just singing related.”

Langton’s favorite part of Japan was the food, her favorites being ramen, sushi and tempura.

Langton believes that knowing Japanese will help her later in life.

“Japanese is kind of my golden ticket in life,” Langton said. “I know exactly what I want to do, I just need to find the exact career that I feel most comfortable and dedicated towards.”

Langton is thinking about living in Minnesota, due to the need for Japanese translators there.   

Langton’s dedication to learning Japanese has paid off greatly. In addition to travelling over 6,000 miles and being able to talk to new people, Langton has taught herself a skill that will last a lifetime.