My Second Home in CCU
—CCU Elite Academic
(紫荊書院)
What is CCU Elite Academic?
CCU Elite Academic, which is a special organization under the Center for General Education in CCU. The CCU Elite Academic is composed of many students （院生）from different departments and grades in CCU, and it is a good and suitable place for students in distinct fields to fulfill their dreams, achieve the goal of self-improvement, and practice interdisciplinary learning.
For example, students can hold many activities including inviting both inside and outside school’s professors to give a speech for a certain issue or topic, or you can hold a visiting activity to companies or museums.
Special features in CCU Elite Academic
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Teachers and family’s system
Besides, in the CCU Elite Academic, there are specific teachers who can offer students helps with many aspects, regardless of the suggestions of holding activities or the recommendations toward life planning and career searching. In my opinion, I believe that the students here are more positive and proactive to grab opportunities to show themselves or accept challenges to fulfill self-learning. Therefore, the students tend to form close relationships with each other and also with professors.
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Interdisciplinary learning
In addition, the teachers may also set up several groups for people who share the same interest in the particular issue, like 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) issue of UN, which focus on both economic and environmental issues globally. There is also the teacher who is the expert on the culture of aboriginal people. Not only the groups for discussing certain issue can help you enhance your logical and critical thinking, but the teachers also set up many courses only for students in CCU Elite Academic to teach them how to hold a speech or visiting activities.
Many graduated students come back to share working experiences with us.
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Freedom to achieve your dreams
CCU Elite Academic has been established since 2008, and we are the class of 2019 (the 13th session). In the past, the students usually form different groups to fulfill their dreams. For example, if you like playing guitar or playing chess, you can form a guitar or chess “interest group” with someone who shares the same interest with you. Among all the features I mentioned above, the best advantage of CCU Elite Academic is that “you don’t have to worry about the money”. However, before you get the money, you must write a project and submit it to the teachers. Once your proposal is admitted by the teachers and director of the Center for General Education, the school will give you some money to execute your dream. (In fact, the process and the procedure are complex, but it is understandable because if you want someone to give you money, you must need sufficient and justified reasons to persuade “your sponsor” to offer you money.) It really gives us real-life practices to learn many skills like how to write a business letter or regulate the usage of money.
We get the second place on the contest for SDGs.
The project I wrote for holding orientation party.
The business inviation letter to the professor.
The answer is definitely NO! All the activities in CCU Elite Academic are not compulsory, you only need to join it based on your interest or schedule. Another question that I was often asked is that: "Are there many people abandoning their studies in order to hold extracurricular activities?" In fact, there are many people who double major (like me) or minor at two subjects, and also many people who often get the first place in or their own department. It may be hard for you to imagine, but actually, most of the people I have met are both good at playing and studying.
Once I was admitted by the CCU Elite Academic, should I need to attend all the activities?
There are many excellent seniors who made great examples. For example, one of the seniors held the activity which aims to give the homeless a dinner at the end of the year, and he also raise money on the fundraising platform. Another example is that another senior held a visiting activity to The Chinese University of Hong Kong（香港中文大學）and The University of Macau.（澳門大學）
What have we done in CCU Elite Academic?
News for 食歲
Search the key word "中正大學食歲" on google, and you may find many results of it.
For me, the most precious experience is how to be a good leader. This summer, I was the general coordinator of this year’s online orientation party for freshmen. I had learned many interpersonal communication skills and how to guide the whole team to achieve the goal. Although I had the experience of being the leader, I would not say that I was qualified to be a “good” leader, there are still many things worth learning and improving.
CCU Elite Academic is a place full of many free resources, and I am really benefited from it. Nonetheless, it is unavoidable that there also may be some drawbacks. No matter it is a good place for people to learn experiences or skills, or it is a strict and traditional place that may limit the development of students.
Now, I was responsible for making the magazine in CCU Elite Academic, and hopefully that I can finish my work successfully by the end of the next semester.
What have I learned from it?
The magazine I made this summer.
