Deng Jia-jun, has been awarded two Masters at the same time by Tamkang and Universite of Jean Moulin Lyon 3, France respectively for her dissertation on portraits of Asian men in a French novel Duras. She thanks her supervisor and the Chair of TKU French Department, Tsai Shu-ling for making it all possible.

Jia-jun, who is working at a French company in Nei Hu at the moment, is grateful for becoming the first student at TKU to have received two degrees as a result of a special agreement between TKU and this particular sister university. She considers herself lucky and if it not had been for Tamkang, where she spent 7 years growing a fresh-faced freshman to a mature graduate student, she would not have achieved such an honor in a relatively short time (3 years in her post-graduate program).

This opportunity was made possible to her when she participated in the Junior Year Abroad Program and went to the Universite of Jean Moulin Lyon 3, in her third year of her Masters program under the agreement that she could receive dual degrees if she met all the requirements. She was nervous, of course, as she had only thought about nothing other than having an international experience at first, but through the concerted efforts of both universities, including her own supervisor, Professor Tsai, suddenly she found herself becoming the "guinea pig" of an exciting project.

Her year in France was filled with hard work, which has made her more independent and a good cook! Since she studied hard for her dissertation, cooking was one of the ways she could truly unwind while making delicious dishes. Not bad for a girl who went to France to become a Master of Arts, and came back as a good cook. She would love to go back to France again just to be a tourist as in her student year she did not have time nor money to travel around the country.

Finally, she encourages TKU students to go abroad to study. Difficulties can be overcome with some careful planning. Besides, they can be good for our growth, she added. ( ~Ying-hsueh Hu )