Crossword creator has Rhody ties

Nathan Hasegawa, son of former Rhode Island resident Andrea Miller Hasegawa and her husband, Steve Hasegawa, and grandson of Ann Messier of Warwick, recently constructed a crossword puzzle and had it published in the New York Times on April 14 as his high school senior capstone project.  Nathan, age 17, is a senior at the Jewish Community High School of the Bay in San Francisco, California. The clues in his puzzle include nods to both his Jewish heritage (12 down: “Observe Yom Kippur”) and his Japanese heritage (13 across: “Dish that may be eaten with either chopsticks or a spoon”).  His parents, Andrea and Steve, inspired him to take up puzzle construction. They have been solving the New York Times puzzles together since their days in law school at the University of Chicago.

Nathan donated the money he received from this puzzle to the St. Anthony’s Foundation. St. Anthony’s is an organization that provides meals, clothes, technology and other essentials to San Franciscans in need.  Prior to the pandemic, he volunteered in their soup kitchen several times each month, going in on weekends, holidays, or other days off from school.

Nathan will attend Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, Californa, in August, and plans to major in physics and math.