School visits

We love to speak with students!

Of White Ashes is recommended reading for high school students and older. We would be delighted to speak with you about customizing our presentation to fit your class’s grade level. Please click on the button below to contact us about visiting your school.

Connie & Kent

The Paideia School, Atlanta, GA

Connie and Kent Matsumoto are expert presenters who empowered our junior high students with their powerful message of resilience, hope, and the transformative power of storytelling. They exhibited their passion, authenticity, and ability to connect with students during their visit and would be an invaluable asset to any school or organization.
— April Bartlett, Junior High Teacher
Kent and Connie shared their story and provided a behind the scenes look into the creation of their novel. Our seventh and eighth grade students came away with a deeper understanding of history, a better appreciation of the power wielded in words, and the importance that each of us play in seeing that justice prevails in our immediate futures.
— Tom Painting, Junior High Teacher

Newark Charter High School, Newark, DE

Thank you for engaging with my students by exposing them to history, geography, politics, human rights, and creative writing through primary and secondary sources. Your beautiful, researched-based story shows how life can show us beauty and peace through indescribable pain.
— Jocelyn Cane, M.Ed., Global Context for Leadership Pathway Teacher

Southwest Academy Magnet School, Baltimore, MD

Kent Matsumoto’s presentation on the Japanese American Incarceration Camps enriched my 8th grade students’ learning experience on a deep level. Not only were they exposed to interesting and unusual details about this time in history, but they were shown the personal experience of someone who had actually been there, which made the lesson much more tangible. Kent’s presentation enhanced their excitement to research and write their essays - a teacher’s dream come true! My students even wrote thank you letters because they were so moved!
— Ruut DeMeo, Secondary ELA Teacher