“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” —Psalm 34:18
AACCS was the custodian of the Ryo & Jean Komae Scholarship Fund since its creation in 2011 by the children of Ryo & Jean Komae. The purpose of the scholarship is to provide financial support to the next generation of Christian counselors who have a heart to serve the Asian American Christian community and to give encouragement to these counselors in their graduate studies as they prepare to help the “brokenhearted.”
$2,000 scholarships were awarded annually to two, and sometimes three, graduate students in mental health disciplines such as Marriage & Family Therapy, Clinical Social Work, and Clinical Psychology. There were as many as 16 applicants in one year, each with exceptional credentials and life experiences that influenced their decisions to enter the counseling professions.
Since 2011, twenty-three graduate students received scholarships totaling $46,000. The students represented academic institutions such as Fuller Theological Seminary, Biola University’s Rosemead School of Psychology, Azusa Pacific University, Loma Linda University, California State University Long Beach, UCLA, and Alliant University.
With New Dawn/AACCS retiring its operations on July 31, 2020, the Komae Family has designated the Fuller Foundation and the Department of Marriage and Family Therapy at Fuller Theological Seminary as the new home for the Ryo & Jean Komae Scholarship Fund. For more information, please contact Migum Gweon, the new Komae Scholarship Chair, at migumgweon@fuller.edu or 626-584-5523.
We are grateful to the Komae family for the trust bestowed upon our organization to steward this unique scholarship fund since its inception. We especially thank former AACCS Board Member, Kent Komae, his brother Glenn Komae, their wives and families for the vision to establish this valuable resource that will multiply blessings for years and generations to come.
ABOUT RYO & JEAN KOMAE
In 2011 the children of Ryo and Jean Komae established the Ryo & Jean Komae Scholarship Fund in order to honor their parents’ many years of service to the community. Married for nearly 70 years, Ryo and Jean shared the love of Christ in their devoted family life and through their commitment of time, talent and treasure to others. They were blessed with three sons, nine grandchildren, and nine great grandchildren.
As a graduate of USC’s School of Pharmacy, Ryo owned Gardena Pharmacy from 1949 until his retirement in 1981. It was there that he mentored many young Japanese American pharmacists, as well as other young people whom he employed. Jean was a housewife for many years before graduating from California State University, Long Beach in 1972 with a degree in Home Economics. She went on to educate many young people in Home Economics while working in the Los Angeles Unified School District. She was also a mentor to many Asian American young women in her community.
For decades, Ryo and Jean were involved in a variety of church ministries, both at Gardena Valley Baptist Church and at Coast Christian Fellowship in Torrance. They were leaders and role models. They also participated in numerous activities in the City of Gardena, including the Boy Scouts, Sansei Baseball, F.O.R. Junior Sports Association, Kiwanis, and the YMCA. To honor his contributions to civic life, Ryo was elected to the Gardena Hall of Fame in 1998.
The creation of the scholarship fund in their name was a surprise to Ryo and Jean, but they joyfully accepted this honor from their children as an opportunity to help strengthen families through the work of AACCS. They fully embraced the purpose of the fund as a way to encourage and build up a new generation of Asian American Christian mental health counselors.
On December 19, 2016, at the age of 98, Ryo Komae went home to be with his Lord. On May 20, 2018, at the age of 95, Jean Komae joined Ryo in heaven.
