Foreign Student En-Ching Chang

It started with a desire to learn English in an international setting. One suggestion led to another. The Philippines became the best choice, perhaps because it was closest to home. The search began. They came across Silliman University.

And so his journey began.

En-Ching Chang or “Andy” is from Taiwan. He is among over 200 international students from 56 countries who are studying now in Silliman. His parents decided to bring him to Dumaguete to learn English and find the necessary ropes to becoming a successful professional one day.

It was in 2012 when Andy’s parents flew to Dumaguete to check out both the city and Silliman. On that first trip, they sealed the deal. But Andy only moved to Silliman in 2015 after he finished high school. He first took up Nursing. Two years later, realized his inclination was more towards understanding how people behave and think. Andy shifted to Psychology, and is now in his third year.

A lot has changed for Andy. His experience in Silliman brought out his leadership and communication skills. In fact, he is an active student leader and holds a post in the student council of the College of Arts and Sciences. Andy has also mastered conversational English. Away from those times when he’d shy away from speaking to a large group, he conquered the Claire Isabel McGill Luce Auditorium when he hosted the University-Wide Orientation for First Year students at the opening of School Year 2018-2019.

Andy admits that he had his own challenges as a foreign student during his first month in Silliman. He had to overcome the language barrier and a change in culture. But while he could have given up, he translated them into a source of motivation to work harder and share more of himself. He would initiate a conversation with his classmates, not minding the grammatical mistakes. To Andy’s mind, practice makes perfect – and it was when he pushed himself further out of his comfort zone that he learned.

Along the way, Andy also realized that learning a new language and being in a new environment developed him more as a person and brought many learning opportunities for him. He gained more friends, sharpened his sense of community, and became more active in both extra- and co-curricular activities. He also became more open-minded and accepting of constructive criticisms – what to Andy are two of the more important traits in continuing to learn and grow as a person for others.