Allen Chan
NTPU (National Taipei University), Taiwan

            Director Nakazawa invited me to discuss my story of preparing for the master's degree after I was admitted to the Business Administration program at NTPU (National Taipei University). However, several students had already questioned me about master's preparation before the director invited me to discuss. Normally, I'd follow up with a question for those students who asked me: "Do you want to continue your education after college? Or do you really want to work directly?" They will all consider for a time after hearing my question. That said, I believe they all know how to prepare; rather, they don't know whether or not to pursue graduate school. It makes me reminded myself that I was once lost, worried, and unsure of what to do. However, I found four crucial elements that assisted me in identifying the problem along the way, which are: 1. Try 2. Found Passion 3. Plan and 4. Execute. These four elements led me to my path to graduate school, and also enables me to precisely define my objectives and ambitions. So, let's begin by Trying.

 

1. Try

Director Nakazawa once said: "Trying can let us know what we like and what we don't like." I believe the director's statements are quite beneficial to me. I discovered my desire for business as a result of repeated attempts. I started out by taking optional classes at the Management department. I began to sign up for marketing competitions and entrepreneurship courses after discovering that I was highly motivated. At the end of the day, my internship was all about marketing. Despite several failures, I found myself fearless for that, and it was then I discovered my enthusiasm for business.

 

2. Found Passion

After trying, the best indicator of whether you like it or not is passion. My passion for study business not only gave me the courage to challenge Business Administration in a public graduate school, but also gave me the determination to not be afraid of failure. The best example is when I was dismissed by a professor before enrolling in a business course. Since I really liked it and really wanted to learn the knowledge of the course, I told the professor frankly at the time: "If you don't let me take this class, I will still come to audit." Of course, in his final exam, I achieved very high grades in his class. It all taught me that having a passion for something makes one want to get it done despite the hardships. Therefore, I want to ask everyone who is watching this sharing article, have you found your passion in your four years of college? If so, congratulations, you can start planning whether you want to go to graduate school or work. If not, it is recommended that you should use the little time left in college as much as possible to try different fields and find your ambition.

 

3. Plan

"Planning allows us to stay organized and not go with the flow on the road to the unknown." Before applying to the institute, I made two two-year plan books, one for masters and one for jobs. I was thinking, if the options in front of me are all two years, which should I choose? Obviously, I ended up choosing a master's degree. The reason is that, while making my plan, I found that a master's would give me more opportunities than a job, and even allow me to go abroad again to exchange, but a job doesn't. Therefore, I resolutely decided to use the two years of the graduate school to complete the learning opportunities that may disappear when I start working in the future.

 

4. Execute

The last important point is "execution", execution is the beginning of changing everything! If you have completed the first few items, but you have no perseverance in implementing them, I will feel very sorry for that, because how can it be smooth sailing on the road of chasing your dreams? After my plan was completed, I immediately started to implement it, and finally got into the graduate school. Because of trying, I found my passion. With passion, I started to plan. Now, I am executing the plan one by one.

 

The above four steps are the four key points I want to share with you. It's normal to feel lost and anxious upon graduation. However, while panicking, we also need to establish guidelines for making decisions. Because, how boring life would be if all of us were obedient to the orders of others! Finally, I hope my four steps can helps while you are reading this sharing article.

 

Best,

EBSC Senior student Allen Chan

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