A nine-year-old visually impaired elementary-school student was the youngest of the more than 50 recipients yesterday of the President’s Education Awards.
Wang Tsai-han (汪采函), of Sanyu Elementary School in Taipei, was one of 56 students who received an award at the Presidential Office in recognition of their achievements despite difficult circumstance.
The recipients ranged in age from Wang at nine to a 45-year-old doctoral students.
While Wang was the youngest, she has shown the same determination to thrive as her older peers.
Wang became blind in her left eye and was left with moderate low vision in her right eye at the age of four because of a tumor that compresses an optic nerve in her brain, the Ministry of Education’s K-12 Education Administration said in a statement.
Wang had undergone two craniotomies in an attempt to remove the tumor, and more than 40 chemotherapy treatments to deal with it in the past four to five years, the ministry said.
Despite these drawbacks, Wang has never given up on schooling, persevering to finish her homework to keep up with her peers.
Wang also loves drawing and has received numerous awards and merits at her school and in other competitions, the ministry said.
One of her oil paintings, Waiting for Hope, last year received an award from the Taipei City Government in an exhibition for students in special education.
Wang’s works, with their delicate and careful brushstrokes, reflect her optimistic view on life, the ministry said.
The award comes with scholarships of NT$250,000 for university students; NT$200,000 for junior and senior-high school students; and NT$150,000 for elementary-school students.
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