By Angela Glowacki

It has been about 2 months since the Spring 2024 graduates have completed their dissertations and received their diplomas. For many of the international student graduates, the celebrations marked the end of an unforgettable era that brought both bittersweetness and anticipation for the next chapter ahead.

We had the opportunity to catch up with three graduates regarding their future plans and their reflections of the time spent at NCCU. Continue reading to hear their stories.

Student bios

Ethan Knecht, IMAS, USA

Ethan was a student in the IMAS program who focused on China’s and Taiwan’s relationship with Latin America. He foresaw the degree helping him explore jobs analyzing trans-Pacific relationships.

(Ethan Knecht)

Annika Peterson, IMAS, USA

Annika was also part of the graduating IMAS cohort. She expected the program to be more hands-on in day-to-day life and logistical tasks which would trickle down into career planning and networking. She found out that there were more opportunities to network and build connections outside of the classroom and across disciplines at NCCU. “Not an abundance of events and opportunities,” she shared, “but not too few either.”

(Annika Peterson)

Yadarun (Emily) Komala, IMES, Thailand

Emily was part of the IMES program and came into NCCU with a background of social entrepreneurship and consulting experience. She understood that social issues require effective structural and policy changes, and chose the IMAS program because of its unique offering of economics, policy analysis, econometrics, and data analytics. She foresaw this program providing her with a deeper understanding of how to apply economic theories to address complex social issues and drive sustainable social development.

(Yadarun Komala)

Reflecting on extracurricular involvement at NCCU

All three students engaged in various extracurricular activities both at NCCU and in Taipei which enriched their experience abroad. Ethan took taekwondo classes his first year before focusing more on Latin dance and ballet his second year. He shared that these experiences helped him meet new friends, but also provided him with valuable opportunities to practice his Mandarin skills in a native speaker setting. Additionally, he also took Chinese classes at NTNU and worked remotely.

Annika also took Chinese classes in addition to her regular course load while also creating and maintaining a YouTube channel that documented her travels and life in Taiwan. She credited her YouTube channel as a way that allowed her to connect with many students at NCCU. She shared that her channel is her proudest achievement because in addition to the content she created, she also became proficient in editing software. In addition, she also attended group study sessions and language exchanges. During her time at NCCU, she was able to cultivate many different professional and personal connections in Taiwan. “I met people while I was out for a run, met people at the gym, met people at conferences,” she remarked. She acknowledged that many of the endeavors and connections came from her own efforts as well as from the efforts of the NCCU professors and “whoever hangs up the fliers for events in the general building elevators.”

Emily was actively involved in the IMES Student Council, which was the program’s first student council. She shared that being a part of the student council allowed her to develop and refine a range of skills that are directly applicable to her career. “Leading initiatives and organizing events enhanced my project management and teamwork abilities,” she shared, “While managing student engagement and communication helped me strengthen my interpersonal and leadership skills.” She credits these experiences as not only broadening her network, but also providing practical insights to leadership, communication, and collaboration – skills that are crucial for advancing in any professional environment.

Next steps and future plans

Ethan will stay in Taiwan for the next year where he will study Mandarin full time as a China Language Fellow at NTU’s ICLP language school. After completing the fellowship, he plans to return to Washington DC where he hopes to analyze trans-Pacific relationships in a government-adjacent role.

Annika is currently back in the United States catching up with family and traveling. Afterwards. She will move to Washington DC and use her skills in policy analysis, Mandarin Chinese language, and women’s health policy – skills gained through her time at NCCU. “My plan is to work my way up to being a global health policy analyst with a keen interest in assisted reproductive technology and women's health in Asia and in the United States” she shared, “I believe the experience of just living in Taiwan will propel me forward in achieving this goal and also set me up for success in applying to PhD programs for public health in the next 5 years.”

While Emily initially planned to seek jobs in Taiwan, she found that her background in consulting and beginner-level Mandarin skills made it challenging to find opportunities. She has returned to Thailand where she is looking for positions in sustainability or the ESG field. Her immediate goal is to join a consulting firm to develop ESG and GRI reporting skills. In the future, she envisions transitioning into a specialized role as an ESG/Sustainability specialist or manager in either the public or private sector, leveraging the expertise she has gained from both her consulting background and the knowledge acquired from IMES.

Graduates’ perspective regarding career services for international students

Annika shared that she did not receive any job support from NCCU. While understanding that providing help in the job search is difficult when many students will be traveling all over the globe, Annika believes that there needs to be more opportunities to inform students about specific companies that are hiring and jobs that are available to recent graduates. She acknowledged there it is a great deal of work to provide this for undergraduate students and that NCCU does a great job of getting them prepared for the workforce, however she feels that there were significantly less opportunities for graduate students in fields of Asia-Pacific studies like her. If she had been more aware of opportunities available in Taiwan, she would have stayed and pursued employment here. However, because she felt there were no opportunities in Taiwan in her field, she felt pushed back to America despite her wishes to stay and work. Annika suggests international program targeted job fairs to events that would encourage students and professors to meet, talk and brainstorm through possible career paths and opportunities both inside and outside of Taiwan. This way, international students would “network between themselves and with professors who have much more life and job experience.”

Emily also shared that while she did not pursue job opportunities in Taiwan very seriously, she found that while NCCU organized several job fairs, many positions required Mandarin proficiency or were centered around market research or customer service roles for SEA nationalities – which were areas that did not align with her career goals. “I do recognize the value of the NCCU alumni network,” she stated, “which is very strong and beneficial for job searches. The NCCU label, for instance, can be quite advantageous on platforms like LinkedIn. I’m also aware that there are international firms in Taiwan that might align with my field and not require Mandarin skills, but by the time I realized this, I had already decided to return to Thailand.” In regard to her suggestions for improvement on NCCU’s part in providing more access to career assistance for international students, she suggested a dedicated job search support system for NCCU graduates, such as a Facebook page or a LINE OA. “More importantly,” she concluded, “Since I graduated in the social science field which is not the most needed field (unlike the more technical ones like engineering or medicines), it has become more challenging for us to find job opportunities on our own.”

Hearing the insights and experiences of all three graduates has been an incredibly valuable opportunity to celebrate their accomplishments as well as look forward to ways that future graduates can be supported. We congratulate all the Spring 2024 graduates and look forward to their future successes.