Cheng Chih-ya (
Cheng gave up a place on the women's national swim team and a teaching job at an elementary school in order to join the Marines as a career soldier.
Cheng is now serving in the Marines' communication department, but she is also a swimming instructor who is in charge of training her fellow Marines.
Prior to joining the Marines, Cheng, 25, was ready to begin a career as an elementary school physical education teacher as she also possesses the title of being a national swim team member. However, in April, she made a big change in her career plans and decided to become a Marine.
"Some say that I am too old to be a private in the Marines. Some say that my joining the Marines is such a waste since I am a qualified teacher. But I say it is your attitude that decides whether you will succeed or not," Cheng said.
Cheng said that her parents did everything they could to help her become a swimmer in her childhood.
Her remarkable talent in the pool also helped her gain admission to the Physical Education Department of National Pingtung University of Education without the need to take any entrance exams.
Upon graduation, Cheng also earned a certificate as an elementary school teacher after passing the exam. But she eventually decided to give it all up and become a Marine.
"Honestly, the fat paychecks and package you get with the Marines are the main things that attracted me," Cheng said.
She said that she could earn at least NT$100,000 a month by teaching swimming in summer. But, in winter, her income would have been drastically reduced, while she had yet to find a teaching job even though she was a qualified teacher.
"As you know, teaching positions are so limited while we have too many qualified teachers," she said.
"On the other hand, the Marines offers a steady job and an attractive package that gives me a chance to challenge myself," she said.
In the meantime, Cheng said she is planning to take advantage of her work in the Marines to take as many electronics-related national exams as possible.
"Since it is my area of expertise, I would love to have as many certificates as possible," she said.
"It will make me a lot more competitive when I retire from the Marines and return to public life," she said.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
RSS