The road to
collage had been rough for Yun. She had been very independent and things did not
go the way that I had wished. Yun had special dreams during her final few years in high
school. I had been giving support but sometimes what she asked had been way out
of my expectation.
Those
extraordinary thought like taking up a tuition course in Mainland while aiming for
top design school in US, or studying in a night school for undergraduate Japanese
language course at the northern tip of the island while preparing for university
entry examination were presented to Ving and Me during the last few months of
her high school days.
We did not approve
her idea and finally I successfully persuaded her to take up the course she was
offered – a multimedia design course at an university near our area.
The university was
20km and it was quite late when Yun decided to take the course. We had a short
duration to prepare her for the course. She was not eligible for the hostel
(home residence too close to the school) and luckily there was this private
dorm with single occupancy nearby the school. Price was acceptable and it was
300m from the university. The room came with a small balcony but unfortunately
located on 4th floor and did not come with a lift. Well, nothing
much to shout as Yun was till aiming for another course and I had told her that
she might need a suitable environment to prepare herself. She had adapted well
as she was good at this multimedia topic; she had performed well and won top
prize in the school design competition. However she wanted something else.
During the last
few months of her high school days, she had taken an active part in the
organization of the graduation prom for the whole county. Their working group
had presented a ticketing app and light shinning app which could coordinate
mobile phone torch light in the prom.
Both app was developed
with app inventor; very basic tools but it was a success. The ticketing
app was initially tendered to a vendor and after the company failed to deliver,
Yun had thrown out a usable app and presented to the county administration and
the tender was awarded to her.
She had gotten
report over newspaper and letter of thanks from the county administration for
her contribution.
Unfortunately
these stuffs came after the application phase of university.
She had prepared
her port folio with this result and started application at the end of 1st semester through the talent selection program. Talent selection program was
initiated few years ago by the ministry of education for talented students who do not have outstanding academic result to
apply for undergraduate course in university. Seat was very limited and only
less than a handful of seat was available each year.
Some of them
needed interview. My brother had a chat with Yun when we met during CNY this
year and told me that if interview is needed, Yun would definitely be selected
as she had great presentation skill.
Indeed, my brother
was right; Yun made it to list and there was the only university who asked for
interview.
I still remembered
that day she went for the interview. We took the high speed rail as 2 interviews (different faculty) was scheduled on the same day. The university was
located beside the famous FJ night market in central part of the island.
We headed to the high
speed rail station early that morning. Yun was prepared and she had put on a
former suit with black blouse and white shirt that she seldom worn. She was
nervous as I could tell from her eyes. We arrived at the station on time and took a cab
to the school. I wished her good luck before the interview building and gone to
the park nearby for a rest. I did not want to be one of those parents who
nervously sent their kids to the doorstep of the interview room. It was her
fight and not mine and I would need to show her that I backed her up all the
way and not fight the war for her instead.
After
waiting in the cold wind around the park nearby for 2 hours, Yun finally came out and
she told me everything went smooth and the interviewers were satisfied with
her, however they told her if she did not make the list she would be definitely
chosen should she apply via the normal examination pathway.
It seemed that we
had one ticket in hand and Yun was more confident during our chat during lunch.
We found a good Korean restaurant nearby the school and I reassured her that she would make it. The afternoon session started at
two and I had waited around the resting hall this time instead of open air. The waiting was a torment...
The interview
lasted for 1+ hour and Yun told me that the professors were more interested on
how she got the tender rather than her skill..
Anyway both
interview gone smoothly and Yun made it to the list for both faculties. She had
however opted for computer engineering after deep consideration…The hunt for
hostel room,laptop, and driving license had just begun…..
