Interview_Jessica Quan

Today we are glad to share a story of GHRM English MBA alumna Ms. Jessica Quan.

Jessica Florence Quan Chan was born in Guatemala, both of her parents are immigrants from Hong Kong, therefore she has rich background – mixture of Chinese and Guatemalan cultures.  Jessica studied Hotel and Restaurant Administration in her undergraduate studies. Her favorite hobbies are traveling, eating different type of food, hanging out with friends and chatting as well as watching TV dramas.

When Jessica was in Taipei, she started to search for universities that have the Human Resource Management master programs in Taiwan and found out that there are only two universities, one in Taipei and one in Kaohsiung. Jessica’s choice fell on NSYSU because the city has a great weather, sunshine and the beach is a part of University campus! She also wanted to improve her Mandarin speaking and studying in Taiwan provided her with opportunity to do so. After moving to Kaohsiung she found out that it was a big city, but very calm and peaceful, which made her fall in love.

Jessica remembers her time being a part of GHRM English MBA Program: “NSYSU cares a lot about the international students, they make you feel like home. Besides the people, the amazing view to the ocean is worth it. Lots of interesting classes: Organizational behavior, Human Resource Competency Development and Strategic Human Resource Management. These courses where focused on Human Resources, which is the main reason I wanted to study. These courses imply a lot on understanding the actions, behaviors, decisions of the people of an organization. It can help you to develop more abilities to understand the employees of an enterprise.”

Before coming to Kaohsiung, Jessica had a working experience – she was the executive receptionist at Westin Camino Real Hotel in Guatemala. “In Guatemala, if you have a foreign degree will increase the opportunity to be hired and if you have another language, it is another asset and beneficial for you. Obtaining a degree from one of the top 10 universities in Taiwan and top 100 worldwide, definitely gave me an extra point”. Now after having her master’s degree she is back home to Guatemala and is currently working as a manager in her family business and she acquired the necessary pack of knowledge and skills for being a good manager.

Jessica’s advice would be: “Enroll in the GHRM English MBA Program, study hard and enjoy every second!”

A Life-changing Experience: Alumna Khoa Tran speaks about GHRM.

Ever wondered what our GHRM MBA Program Alumni are doing after graduation? We’ve conducted a few interviews to let you know the career success of our alumni and the first one is Ms. Khoa Tran (2nd on the right), who is originally from can Tho, a South city of Vietnam.

After working for Cathay life Vietnam as Branch Development Officer for 3.5 years, Khoa decided to take a challenge and pursue Master’s degree. When looking for a program to study abroad, Ms. Tran found information about NSYSU on the website of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vietnam and her personal interest in Human resource as well as the reputation and beautiful sights of NSYSU played a big role in her decision to join GHRM MBA Program.

Khoa is recalling great times being part of NSYSU GHRM MBA Program and the valuable skills she gained and things she experienced: English learning environment, multicultural student life, international friends… All these helped Khoa gain communication, teamwork and other skills, which are indeed important and useful for life and work. Both teaching and administrative staff of the NSYSU are friendly and supporting, so students feel almost like being home. Besides the classes, students have a chance to listen to guest speakers with different backgrounds; join company visits; attend projects organized by NSYSU and companies; and other interesting outdoor activities. Khoa loves and misses the people and the beauty of NSYSU and Sizihwan bay. 

Khoa believes, that studying abroad and especially choosing NSYSU GHRM MBA Program as final destination for obtaining Master’s degree gave her more career opportunities. She has been offered much higher positions with more job roles than before. “2 years at NSYSU changed my life and career path.”- says Khoa. Her favorite subjects were Research Methods and Work Psychology, since they helped to widen knowledge and prepare Khoa for her future job. She is currently working as HR manager of E-TOP Co., Ltd, a branch of Eclat Textile Co., Ltd in Vung Tau city, Vietnam.

Even though she was worried much about the studies and there were uncertainties such as how to pass the courses, how to support studies, how to get used to the new environment, etc., soon Khoa realized that she worried too much. Friends, teachers and program coordinators help not only in studying but also gave a chance to develop herself, experience and enjoy the life at NSYSU.

“I would recommend GHRM MBA Program at NSYSU to my friends who are looking for a Master’s program, a multicultural learning environment, a place to make new friends, discover and experience Taiwanese beautiful culture and people.” – concludes Khoa.

GHRM Alumna: Patrycia Kapkin

Dear students, today we would like to share with you a story about very successful GHRM English MBA Program alumna Ms. Patrycja Kapkin from Poland. 

Patrycja’s Chinese teacher, who comes from Kaohsiung told her about opportunities to get MOE scholarship and study at NSYSU. As Patrycja wanted to travel, and some of her friends shared with her the experience, she decided to try and chose GHRM English MBA Program, because the curriculum seemed to be interesting and perspective. As our alumna was determined to finish her studies in two years, she focused solely on studying and her existing hobbies (during her free time, she is mostly involved into art, she likes to crochet, paint, write or make things from polymer clay). Patrycja says: “I honestly loved the campus, and the fact that the classes had a much more practical approach than any studies I had in Poland. My favorite subjects were the ones somehow connected to my thesis topic, as they were both enjoyable and useful for me. And for that matter I think I liked International Organizational Behavior and Work Psychology most.”

As for the majority, the biggest difficulty was with adjusting to the fact of moving to an entirely new country, and the cultural differences. Fortunately, everyone at NSYSU and Taiwanese people in general were very friendly and helpful in the process of getting used to a new place.

Even though Patrycja had barely any working experience before arriving to NSYSU (mostly a summer break part-time job as a cashier in a super market), after graduating from GHRM English MBA Program, she got a position at “McKinsey & Company” in Poland (“McKinsey & Company” is an American worldwide management consulting firm with offices all over the world. It conducts qualitative and quantitative analysis to evaluate management decisions across public and private sectors.) Patrycja’s current position is a Process Leader in the Visual Graphics Department. She coordinates the workflow, estimates efforts required to complete certain tasks and assigns those tasks to Visual Artists. “Only after I received the MBA degree, did I realize, that in Poland it is a highly prestigious degree, that is in general difficult to obtain. I believe that it greatly enhanced my chances of finding other job opportunities in the future, as I only have 1 year of experience by now.” – shares her experience Patrycja.

We wish Patrycja best of professional success and thank her for sharing her experience.

Be Independent, Be Responsible: GHRM Alumna Linda Lin

Linda (3rd on the left) is from Taipei and has studied International Business for her bachelor’s degree. She is very much into traveling, language learning (now can speak and listen for daily life in Thai language). While looking for the opportunities of gaining dual degrees, Linda found that GHRM is the program that provides two different fields of dual degrees, that is, Human Resource Management and International Business. 

As mentioned, during her studies, Linda was part of the Student Association of International Programs. Together with the Student Association team, they have held activities like company field trips, keynote speech, alumni gatherings. Linda suggests that to be a graduate student is more challenging, as “You get to know yourself more. Being a graduate student suggest that we have to be more independent and look for answers instead of simply asking questions. It’s probably not fun, but you surely learn from challenges” explains Linda. The most interesting subject for Linda was “IT human resource management” instructed by Professor Chi: “The course was splendid, you get to meet professionals from big companies and get to learn their practices. They were not shy to share their experience, and professor has taught some real life assessment methods, and I still keep the course handout!” says Linda 😊  

Linda had just graduated and received several interview opportunities, she says that having dual degree from NSYSU and NTU gives her better chances and makes her more competitive on a job market: “I have get some interview opportunities that I couldn’t imagine getting if I don’t have this diploma. Interviewers are also curious about my dual degree program, and that has helped with opening and talk about who I am, how I work, and what kind of person I am.”

For future GHRM English MBA Program students, Linda’s advice will be: “Be independent and put as much effort as possible. You enrolled into the program, that means you’re qualified as a postgraduate student. Think before you act, act before comments made. Apart from that, I would recommend students to have an internship throughout the study in order to gain more practical experience.”

We wish Linda every success in her career path and thank her for the interview.