This is the second in the relay series of member introduction articles that began in January.
Hatanaka received the baton from Okubo, the first batter.
When I received this baton, the first thing that came to my mind was, "Oh, actually, I don't know enough about the Monosas people to write an article about them..."
(It's been five years since I joined Monosus, but unfortunately the only people I talk to are my teammates...)
Although it would have been interesting to get to know some members I didn't know at all, I decided to get to know the people who work on the same team as me first. So I chose "Sugie-san," who works with me at the same company.
I really wanted to talk to him over a drink at an izakaya, but given the current situation I held back and conducted the interview online.
I wanted to work with Manabe-san.
In response to the first question, "What made you want to join Monosus?" Sugie answered with a straight face, and the conversation started off with quite a difference in tone.
He casually says things that I can't say without drinking. I thought he wasn't the type to talk passionately, but Sugie casually showed his passionate side in broad daylight.
Before joining the company, he first became interested in the Food Hub Project. ( The Food Hub Project is a project centered around "local production and local food," connecting the agriculture and food culture of Kamiyama Town, Tokushima Prefecture, to the next generation.) This was exactly what Sugie was interested in, and he decided to join Monosus, thinking, "If I join Monosus, I might have a chance to work with Manabe."
* Manabe is our CDO (Chief Designer), Food Hub Project Manager, and Manager of the Blind Donkey.
Sugie was originally interested in social design, and during his university days he was a member of an NGO and worked on projects dealing with environmental issues.
"Apparently you can go to FUJI ROCK for free, and you can even go on the Green Stage." With such a heartwarming motivation typical of a college student, he became so passionate about this NGO that he poured his entire college life into its activities, distributing garbage bags at the entrance to the FUJI ROCK venue, interviewing artists about environmental issues and writing articles about them.
Since exam periods at university often conflict with NGO activities, the professor was thorough in negotiating with students to have most of the tests turned into reports.
He is headstrong when it comes to something he has decided on, and once he starts, he is the type to immerse himself in it until he is completely immersed. This attitude is the same at work, and when he has decided on the path he should take, he is a reliable member of the team who is not afraid to take the helm and move the project forward.
Revive Mito, liven up Ibaraki
Sugie's passion for social contribution activities did not cool even after he entered the workforce, and from 2018 he participated in a project called the " Ibaraki Relocation Plan " for about a year.
Sugie is an Ibaraki native who grew up in Mito from the middle of elementary school until he graduated from junior high school. When he visited Mito as an adult, he was confronted with the reality that the bustle of the Mito he knew had disappeared, and was overcome with a sense of loss, which led him to decide to participate in this activity.
The main activity is acting as a hub connecting people active in various fields in Ibaraki with people who share an interest in those fields. At one time, based on the theme of "Sports x Community" proposed by Mito Hollyhock, a member of the J.League, the organization also worked as a supporter for a project team that designed community contribution activities and came up with a regional revitalization plan centered around sports.
(For more details, please see our previous article , "Living with Work + α" )
I really admire his vitality in taking on such energetic activities on his days off. Through these activities, he has come to realize that it is important to sow the seeds of interest and to let people know about anything, and he now tries to use the experience he gained there to have conversations at work.
Sugie is very polite in his speech, both at work and during casual conversation. Perhaps the gentle and polite demeanor he cultivates to connect the speaker and the listener comes from this background.
A person who works hard, wears a knit cap, and has a very unique sneeze sound.
Although I was given the opportunity to introduce the team members, the content ended up being very biased, so I asked my team members who work at the same location about their own image of Sugie.
Uemura
"She's serious, serious, and a little bit playful. She's as serious as the two big guys on our team, along with Kobayashi, and I think that's a great virtue, and it's one of her strengths that I want her to continue to cherish. She's not just a serious person, but if you dig deeper, you'll find that she has a sense of humor, so don't judge her by her superficial seriousness. If you go for a drink with her, you'll get a glimpse of her other side, which is interesting."
Kobayashi
"I'm good at getting things done efficiently, but sometimes I get a bit flustered"
Yamauchi
"He's a spreadsheet expert who makes his presence known with his strange bird-like sneeze and the way he wears his knit cap. Once the direction is set, he's actually the most powerful member of the team in terms of driving things forward.
When he first joined the team, I got the impression that he was struggling to make the most of his skills, but now he's become someone everyone can rely on. Am I the only one who thinks he's become more courageous in the way he speaks and behaves?
Fujiwara
"Although he appears calm at first glance, he has a wide range of interests and a strong sense of curiosity! Whenever there's an interesting project going on, Sugie is always there. He's someone who gives you the peace of mind of knowing that he'll do his job properly and steadily, and who isn't afraid to communicate with anyone.
Also, she's very stylish. And her sneezing is so distinctive that you can tell who she is just by hearing her voice, so I think that's one of Sugie's charm points."
The way we met is Reiwa, Sugie-san
In short, all I can say is that he is a socially good person, but I decided to go a little further and ask him about marriage.
After all, I was definitely looking for a boyfriend until about a year and a half before I went on maternity leave. Then when I came back from maternity leave, I was surprised to find out that I was married.
The first encounter is through online English conversation.
The fact that they went from online to meeting offline shows they have great initiative.
To top it off, after just one month of dating, her husband was transferred to a new job, and they had to live long distance. After a year of long distance living, she got married when her husband returned to Tokyo.
They only spent a month together in Tokyo. Their determination to get married is amazing.
In response to a question that she herself finds boring and mundane, "What made you decide?" Sugie answers quite seriously, "When you live together, my husband's company provides rent assistance if you're family."
The process from meeting to marriage was a wonderful development, and while I was imagining all sorts of romantic things, the deciding factor was incredibly realistic. I fell in love with Sugie at once after hearing his unexpected answer (laughs).
I actually wanted to write more about my work, but the impact of the marriage story was so great that it all got lost, so I'd like to end my introduction to Sugie here.