The 2011 Outstanding Mentor Awards were presented by President Lih J. Chen in a ceremony held on Monday, June 13^th. This year's recipients include Prof. Chung-Chin Lu of the Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Prof. Rong-Shun Chen of the Dept. of Power Mechanical Engineering and Prof. Yung-Hsien Wu of the Dept. of Engineering and System Science.

Students quoted an old Chinese saying---"a single conversation with a wise man is better than ten years of book studies," to describe the experience they have had with their mentor, Prof. Chung-Chin Lu. Prof. Lu has high expectations for his students. He believes good students should have the ability to learn and study independently.

In addition, they shall be willing to ask for assistance whenever they are faced with difficulty in their studies as well as in their daily live. He encourages all his students to sharpen their language and communication skills, to broaden their international outlook so that they can communicate their ideas and keep up with emerging global trends. Furthermore, he also pays a great deal of attention to his students' physical well-being and encourages them to exercise regularly as a way to develop perseverance. He treats his students as if they were his own children and cares not only about their academic performance but also their physical as well as spiritual well-being. Looking back on his teaching experience, Prof. Lu said that "students who took my classes might not like me, but I am confident that those I have mentored would not feel that way at all."

Described by many of his students as the "kindest father figure," Prof. Rong-Shun Chen has served as mentor to many students enrolled under the "Points of Thousand Lights Project." In mentoring these students, Prof. Chen not only looks at their academic programs and following up with their progress, he also stresses learning outside of the classroom. He encourages them to actively participate in student clubs and its activities. He urges them to make good use of public lectures, seminars and concerts that are regularly offered on our campus because he believes such events are great learning opportunities for the youth in their formative years. He often meets his students for a meal and conversation to hear their plans for the future. He told them that as one learns and grows, one will always face new opportunity and challenge and shall have a plan on what one will be doing when such opportunity and challenge appear.

Prof. Yung-Hsien Wu is described, by his advisees, as their "best friend." Such endearment might have stemmed from the five "core elements" of his mentoring recipe, namely: patient, confidence, empathy, sincerity as well as friendliness. When compared to their peers few generations older, university students in contemporary Taiwan have greater resources at their disposal and seemed to have a better idea of what they want. He, therefore, urges his students to listen to their hearts and pursue what really interests them. But, as one pursues one's current interest, one shall never close out any opportunity to explore and learn new things. He urges them to actively pursue interdisciplinary studies and maintain an active social live by interacting with international students who are studying on our campus and by participating in international voluntary works.