The Ministry of Education presented Education Contribution Awards yesterday to 37 winners from around the country, including US citizen Juanelva Rose, who has taught in Taiwan for more than four decades.
Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) and Minister of Education Cheng Jei-cheng (鄭瑞城) handed out the awards at a ceremony at Zhongshan Building in Yangmingshan National Park.
In accepting the award, Rose said she came to Taiwan as a missionary for the United Methodist Church before obtaining a teaching position at Tunghai University in Taichung, where she founded the Department of Music in 1971.
Rose said that when she arrived in Taiwan, she was attracted by the country’s natural beauty and the friendliness of the people.
She said her proudest achievement was that Tunghai University’s music department is considered the “strictest” nationwide in terms of curriculum.
Rose said she had granted scholarships to students from impoverished families or waived fees for them.
Rose said she came to Taiwan when she was 28 years old and has lived here for 43 years, calling it her “first home.”
Since retiring from Tunghai, Rose has held an honorary professorship at the school.
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