MILES CITY, MONTANA: Unlike many featured in Pioneer Profiles, Daigo Yamamura’s journey to Miles City started a little farther away-Yokohama, Japan to be exact.
Years before landing in Montana, Daigo worked seasonally in a linen factory as his first job. Now, he’s a science instructor at Miles Community College (MCC), where he has spent the past four years teaching a variety of courses. His favorite? A class simply titled “Dinosaurs,” which he personally developed for the college.
“Dinosaurs were the center of my academic career,” Daigo says. “Either that, or I just never grew up.”
Beyond teaching, Daigo spends his time at MCC writing research papers and grant proposals. He appreciates the close-knit atmosphere of the college and encourages students to fully engage in their studies.
“I care about your grade as much as you care about the class,” he tells his students.
Outside the classroom, Daigo enjoys running, hiking, and playing the guitar. He describes himself as patient and honest and jokes that those might be the only positive traits he could come up with.
His passion for dinosaurs isn’t just academic. As a child, he dreamed of digging up fossils, a dream he has fulfilled multiple times in his career. If he weren’t at MCC, he imagines himself as a field paleontologist, monitoring construction sites for fossils. One day, he hopes to explore the Salt Glaciers of the Zagros Mountain (when it’s safe to do so).
For now, though, he’s happy inspiring the next generation of dinosaur enthusiasts right here in Miles City.
