An exchange student from Taiwan is experiencing America through OCU’s campus.
Ryan Lu is an exchange student from Soochow University in Taipei, Taiwan, who is participating in the exchange program between SU and OCU.
Lu majors in political science and minors in Japanese at SU, but at OCU he can take any class he’s interested in.
“I take four classes here—TV studio production, governance in America, politics of the Middle East, and entrepreneurial environment,” Lu said.
The program between SU and OCU is a semester-long exchange. Lu will return to Taiwan in December after finals. Like OCU, SU is a private university founded by Methodists.
“The university has grown and become fully accredited, turning into one of the most prestigious private universities on the island, complete with six colleges, 23 departments, 22 masteral programs, and six doctoral programs,” according to the SU’s website, www-en.scu.edu.tw. “SU was the first western-style university in China. The school became the first private university in Taiwan.”
The exchange program waives tuition for the host school of the exchange student so they only pay for housing and food. Lu lives on campus in Cokesbury Court Apartments and has a meal plan for the caf.
Mary Benner, director of global engagement, said OCU typically gets about one or two students from SU every year.
“They are fantastic students,” Benner said. “My experience with students from Taiwan is that they’re very friendly, they’re very adventurous. They really just want to get to know other students on campus.”
Lu said he enjoys the sociability of OCU and feels welcome on campus.
“I wanted to experience the different culture and work on my English,” Lu said. “I like it here. I like that people smile at you even though they don’t know you.”
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