Yuma Kano is the 2025 Scholarship Winner
The Mrs Neu Fund would like to congratulate Yuma Kano as the 2025 scholarship winner!
Yuma is an accomplished pianist, music lover and science enthusiast— with a goal to usher in breakthroughs for people with neurodivergence issues.
Music connects
Music connects Yuma to others.
He recalls a time with five fellow music campers crammed into a bed watching Shutter Island (the movie) on a computer.
Something set them off:
“‘MAHLER!!’ We jumped and squealed in unison and delight, knocking some of us off the bed. Mahler’s Piano Quartet [in the movie soundtrack] may not be familiar to everyone, but it was to us. Despite it being only Day Two of music camp, sharing a space so comfortably together, it felt like we’d known each other for months.”
After years of being around music lovers, Yuma sees music as something you don't just embrace alone, but with others.
“At school, orchestrating dynamic duos to sextets through diverse pieces, I not only united people with differing backgrounds and instruments but also reached people I would’ve never met otherwise.”
Fairfield memories
Yuma was deeply impacted by Fairfield and he cherished his time there. “Of all the years I spent in the DJUSD system—from elementary school through high school—nothing compares to the sense of community at Fairfield. I genuinely believe that nothing else ever will.”
One of his favorite memories is when he landed a significant role in a school play about the solar system.
The debut of the play “was a chilly afternoon with just enough sunlight streaming in to warm me up a bit. My role was introducing a dog—or maybe another animal—from the story. I stood at the front of the stage, proudly holding up a stuffed animal for everyoneto see. The audience erupted in laughter and cheers, and behind me, the other kids, along with Ms. Ryan, Mr. D, and Ms. Armstrong, who sat on the wooden benches up front, cheered me on.”
For some reason, that moment has stayed with him the most.
Off to WashU
Yuma plans to attend Washington University (WashU) in St. Louis in the Letters of Arts and Sciences, expecting to major in psychology and neuroscience, with a minor in music.
Helping inspire breakthroughs
One of Yuma’s goals is to become a doctor and help others who, like him, live with ADHD. “That alone is a meaningful path, but I also carry an ambition that reaches beyond a single profession: I want to contribute to something groundbreaking. Whether it’s joining a lab working to halt the spread of Alzheimer’s, researching how children learn most effectively, or being part of scientific efforts that change lives, I want to be there, I want to help.”
Yuma also wants to inspire others to make breakthroughs. “It could mean teaching a child with anxiety how to play the piano so they can overcome stage fright. It could mean mentoring a teenager with ADHD, helping them navigate challenges in focus, relationships, or confidence.”
His own breakthroughs will come from mastering knowledge that requires deep commitment and prove to himself—and others—that even with a mental disorder, he is am capable of things seemingly beyond my reach.
“I want to inspire myself—and, if I’m fortunate, others. And above all, the goal is to keep going, always reaching a little further than the goal before.”
His three guiding words are: Daring. Hopeful. Purposeful.
We wish Yuma all the best.
