Haruki Meguro is a Japanese sophomore studying biology who is known for his loving kindness toward all those that he meets.
Paul Mooso, a sophomore from Indiana studying information systems said, “The moments you spend with Haruki will be the moments you will relay to your grandchildren. He is like the hero [in] a cartoon show. A hero that strives to be better. A hero without a fiber of evil. A hero full of innocent love. Haruki is genuine gold.”
Haruki was born to Koichi and Kikuea Meguro in Yokohoma, Japan, a city of 3.7 million people, about an hour and a half by train southwest of Tokyo.
A couple years after his birth, his family moved to southern Tokyo where he grew up as the middle child of seven children where he enjoyed helping his mother grow potatoes in their garden, participating in the Boy Scouts program, and reading manga, which are essentially Japanese comic books, Meguro explained.
In 2012, Meguro visited his older brother, Mitsuki, who was studying accounting at BYUH.
Before visiting his brother, Meguro had only been outside of Japan twice, and said he was amazed by all the different cultures found at BYUH.
Meguro said, “There are many people from so many different countries that have gathered here to study together. In my country, there are mostly only Japanese [people], with a few Chinese, Korean, and Pilipino people, with [the occasional] American missionaries. I had never seen so many different people until I came here.”
Meguro said he loved how close to the ocean he was during that visit to his brother.
“Back home, I’m pretty far inland so I’m far from the ocean, but here I was very close and could go whenever I wanted,” Meguro explained. After returning home from his visit, Meguro was called to serve in the Minnesota Minneapolis mission from 2012-2014 where he braved the bitter Midwestern winters and dramatically improved his English speaking capabilities, he said.
After his mission, Meguro was accepted to BYUH, becoming the second person in his family to attend.
His former roommate, Jordan Haider, noticed Meguro is a service-oriented individual. Haider, a senior from Utah studying IT, described Haruki as “a super hard worker and always cleans up for [his roommates]. He folded my laundry for me when I was sick and would give you the shirt off his back.”
Meguro said he plans to move back to Japan after he graduates. “I don’t care what part, as long as I’m in Japan.” He explained, “I mostly just want to be able to speak Japanese again.”
Once back in Japan, he said he wants a job in the medical field.“I chose my major because I wanted something that was flexible. I don’t know exactly what I want to do yet, but I know I would like to help in the medical field. Not a doctor, but maybe as a nurse or something like that,”