For The First Time in 150 Years, Taiwanese Student Gives Graduation Speech at UC Berkeley

May 21, 2018

A bioengineering student from Taiwan became the first Taiwanese citizen to give a graduation speech at the University of California at Berkeley.

Yeh Tsai-chu (葉采衢), who received her master’s degree in translational medicine (MTM), was chosen as the master’s student speaker at the university on behalf of graduate students from the College of Engineering.

Yeh delivered her speech on May 15 under the main theme of “Making the World a Better Place” as the university celebrates its 150th anniversary.

Yeh, who grew up in a family of physicians, highlighted in her speech that “it’s not just our achievements or the recognition we receive that motivates us, it is the real impact and indelible marks we leave on others lives that fulfill us.”

She further noted the importance of developing critical thinking while learning the skills and using the “tools” of one’s chosen discipline.

“The world is changing unpredictably around us — faster than ever before — and the tools we have in hand may rapidly become outdated or simply not match the problems we are faced with,” Yeh said.

“When we got to Berkeley, we each picked a discipline that matched our personal strengths without knowing what tasks we’ll now encounter.”

During her years at Berkeley, Yeh researched gene therapy and gained professional experience as an analyst for Johnson & Johnson.

In Taiwan, Yeh studied at the medical department of National Yangming University, where she won the 2014 College Student Research Award from the Ministry of Science and Technology for her research on early detection of breast cancer.

Featured Image via YouTube / 黃梅茵

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