Each year, the Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Houston organizes an orientation for recipients of a Ministry of Education Taiwan Scholarship or a Huayu Enrichment Scholarship (HES). It provides the lucky students with information about Taiwan, the scholarship regulations, and visa application requirements and gives them an opportunity to meet each other.
The Education Division of TECO in Houston provides services to eight U.S. states: Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. Twenty people were awarded a Taiwan Scholarship or a HES; but only eight live in Texas, and only three live in Houston, and most were unable to attend this year’s orientation, on June 21 because of the geographical challenges, and being involved in other summer activities, or travelling. Despite the challenges, Lucas Kliphon, a HES recipient, and Jonathan Wang, a Taiwan Scholarship recipient, both attended and found the orientation session extremely informative.
Lucas and Jonathan found they have a lot in common. They are both recent class of 2018 graduates of the University of Texas at Austin, and both have visited Taiwan before, but they never knew each other before! When asked about their reasons for wanting to study in Taiwan, they responded similarly. There are so many countries in the world, but it is the place where they want to be, and if possible, they would love to stay and work there after finishing their studies.
The information that the recipients who were unable to attend the orientation might need was compiled in a downloadable form and the Education Division of TECO in Houston will be happy to answer any questions they might have.

Photo:(L to R)Scholarship Program Coordinator Isabelle Chen, Lucas Kliphon, a HES recipient, Sophie Chou, Director of the Education Division, Jonathan Wang, a Taiwan Scholarship recipient, and Consular Officer Marcy Yu in the lobby of TECO in Houston.