Lai Ji-rui and Chuang Zhi-chao, classmates and alumni from the Department of Architecture, have passed the exam, which allow them to study in the US on the government's funding. Lai will study the operation and management of museums, whereas Chuang will do stage/exhibition design and digital architecture under architecture and the design of space/

After Tamkang, Lai went on to study the art of architecture at the Tainan National University of the Arts. Currently she works as a research assistant at the National Center for Research and Preservation of Cultural Properties. The news of her having been funded is particular sweet as this is her second try and will treasure it by working hard in the US.

She admits that she loves things that are artistic and of aesthetic value-a quality, she believes, derived from her undergraduate training at Tamkang. She comments that the Architecture Department at Tamkang has always been innovative in teaching and learning and she particularly inspired by the liberal attitude adopted by most of the teachers in the department who allowed their students to roam and explore. Under this unique environment, she slowly realized that she loved sharing her taste and knowledge with other people, so specializing in museum operation and management this time will indeed provide her the platform she has so desired to practice some of her ideals.

Chuang, on the other hand, was lucky the first time round. He sees studying abroad an essential experience for an architect as newer ideas often originate in other countries. He is also grateful to teachers at the department who constantly encourage students for innovation. In particularly, he remembers Dr. Chen Kuo-hua who taught him Future Studies and has inspired him to be forward-looking. ( ~Ying-hsueh Hu )