I first met Colonel Ishikata at the Academic Bowl competition in July 2021. The first few minutes talking to him all my anxieties from the completion melted away and his kindness and gentleness comforted me. The next day he came along with us to explore D.C. with us. I remember he bought us a TEN dollar balloon just because we said it was cool. I will always appreciate his kindness, thoughtfulness, and calmness.