For Raina Kosowsky, stepping onto the Pierce College campus at just 15 years old wasn’t just a shift in education — it was the start of a transformation.
“It was intimidating, and I thought no adult would take me seriously,” Kosowsky said. “What I quickly realized is that people here would listen to my opinions no matter how old or young they were.”
Kosowsky grew up in the Sumner-Bonney Lake School District, where she says she often felt out of place. Though she participated in theater productions and supported her high school robotics team, Kosowsky said the overall atmosphere felt like a popularity contest.
“I always wanted to be a student leader, but those positions were voted on, and I knew I wouldn’t get voted in,” she said. “I was super dedicated to academics, and it seemed like nobody else cared the way I did.”
Despite her worries that Pierce College classes would be too challenging, and that she wouldn’t find somewhere she belonged in the college community, Kosowsky enrolled at Pierce College as a Running Start student in 2023. What followed, she says, was a complete 180.
At Pierce, Kosowsky found herself not only welcomed but valued.
Kosowsky made herself a goal, one she still recommends to future students: the “one” rule.
“I take one fun class every term, I make one friend in every class, and I joined at least one club,” Kosowsky said.
But Kosowsky did more than try out one club; she made her own, the Pierce College Idol Club, a group that performs J-pop and K-pop dance covers.
“I always had a secret dream of being a J-pop idol,” she said, laughing. “In high school, I stopped talking about anime because I didn’t want to be ‘weird.’ But at Pierce, I can be myself fully. And people think it’s cool.”
The radically welcoming Pierce College environment was a much-needed change for Kosowsky who said she’d been exposed to painful antisemitic bullying in middle and high school. She says she never truly felt represented until she started at Pierce College. Efforts such as food alternatives offered at all student life events made Kosowsky, who follows kosher dietary rules, feel instantly welcomed.
“Pierce College doesn’t just say they’re committed to welcoming students from all backgrounds; they pay attention to cultural needs,” Kosowsky said. “At Pierce everything was inclusive. No matter who you are, what age you are, what culture you align with, they want to make sure every student feels accepted here.”
In classes, faculty and staff members like Sabrina Stevenson, Kosowsky’s College 115 Personal and Academic Success instructor, made her feel right at home and, for the first time, got her thinking differently about her future.
“Sabrina remembered me every time she saw me, she checked in, and she celebrated my growth. That meant everything,” she said. “She helped me realize I needed to find a career that would make me money, but also something that would make me happy, too. I’d heard that before, but it hit different coming from a professor who treated me like an adult.”
After some soul-searching, Kosowsky returned to a dream she’d had as far back as middle school: teaching English abroad in Japan.
“I was dressing in Harajuku fashion in the fifth grade and getting made fun of for it,” Kosowsky said. “I also grew up helping my family host exchange students and started learning Japanese in middle school.”
In the spring of 2025, she visited Japan for the first time — a lifelong goal realized. Her visit to Japan wasn’t just recreational. In August 2025, Kosowsky began the next chapter of her educational journey at Temple University, Japan Campus in Tokyo, having earned admission not only to the school but also to its Honors College and Emerging Leaders Program.
“When I was applying to transfer schools, applying to a school all the way in Tokyo wasn’t something I was afraid to do,” Kosowsky said. “Before Running Start at Pierce College, it might have seemed overwhelming but my experience at Pierce showed me that I am smart enough, I am able to take care of myself, and I am able to make a community for myself. Now, I’m living my life-long dream of living in Tokyo – and starting up an Idol club, again.”
Finding her community at Pierce College
Kosowsky says the decision to leave Pierce was bittersweet.
“I’ve built such a wonderful community here,” she said. “It’s scary to go be the ‘new girl’ again. Here, I’m the one who gives directions. Soon, I’ll be the one asking where the cafeteria is.”
That sense of community was hard-won. During her time at Pierce, Kosowsky found purpose behind the scenes, working in the Office of Student Life, being involved with student government, and tutoring at the writing center.
“Keith Kirkwood, my supervisor at the writing center, taught me how to help others find their own voice instead of just giving them answers,” she said. “Being a tutor helped me maintain my GPA, but more than that, it allowed me to connect with students from a variety of backgrounds, helped me improve the way I use my voice, and helped me improve my own writing.”
Now, as she prepares to board a plane to Tokyo and move into her dorm, Kosowsky reflects on what she’s leaving behind and what she’s taking with her.
“I used to feel like I needed to fit into a cookie-cutter mold,” she said. “At Pierce, I learned I can be myself loudly, joyfully, unapologetically. Leaving the comfort of traditional high school was scary, but it was the best choice I’ve ever made for myself — a step onto the road less traveled that truly made all the difference.”