Grace Olden Highlight

This fall, we’re spotlighting GEARE students whose time abroad shaped not just their studies, but their worldviews. Meet Grace Olden, a senior in Mechanical Engineering, spent Spring 2024 at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) in Tainan, Taiwan—a city steeped in history, food, and vibrant traditions.

For Grace, Taiwan was familiar ground. She had visited during high school on a cultural exchange, staying with a local host family. Reuniting with them years later added a personal depth to her experience. She arrived just in time for Chinese New Year, joining the family for traditional meals and superstitions like staying up all night for good luck. “It was something you couldn’t get just visiting—it felt like I was part of the culture,” she said. Her semester kicked off during the city’s 400th anniversary celebration and the famous Lantern Festival. For over a month, Tainan lit up with glowing dragon dances, intricate light displays, and endless night markets. “It felt like the whole city was celebrating,” Grace recalled.

Food played a central role in her day-to-day life—whether sampling bubble tea, sweet potato balls, or stinky tofu at night markets. “Eating out was affordable, and everything we did revolved around meals,” she laughed. Evenings included exploring the city with friends, going bowling or singing karaoke, and bonding with a diverse group of international students from Belgium, Indonesia, Germany, and beyond.

While her original plan to do research abroad fell through due to a job opportunity with Lockheed Martin, GEARE’s flexibility allowed her to complete the global engineering minor through coursework. She took classes like thermodynamics and a graduate-level analytical mechanics course—all taught in English using U.S. textbooks. Still, there were surprises. “I showed up to my first exam expecting a formula sheet—there wasn’t one. I had to adjust quickly.”

Grace also traveled across East Asia—visiting Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and the Philippines. One highlight was hiking to a remote temple in Busan during peak cherry blossom season. “We were the only people there, and it felt magical,” she said.

Despite being shy, Grace wishes she had connected more with local students. “Everyone was friendly, but I stuck with the international crowd. I wish I’d pushed myself a bit more.” She also hoped to use her Chinese more, but many locals, especially younger ones, defaulted to English. “Still, ordering at food stalls became my main practice zone.”

Looking back, Grace says the experience helped her grow in unexpected ways. “There’s never going to be another time in your life where you can just live in a new country for a few months. Say yes to things, take the leap—you won’t regret it.

Patric Benoy

Mechanical Engineering

Germany