First Graduating Class Roster
Tsui Shu-Yu; Ma Li-Hua; Jen I-Hui; Tang Shao-Tsu; Wu I-Chih; Chao Shu-Tang; Lan Ching-Tai; Wu-Shen Hsin-Mei; Lan Chien-Hui; Lan Yu-Li; Sung Chiu-Shu; Su Huan-Chung; Chen Yen-Hsiu; Wu Tsung-Cheng; Hung Cheng-Yu; Cheng San-Hsiu; Lin Sung-Hua; Tai Pao-Chuan; Shen Yen-Ching; Tsui Cheng-Yin; Chou Chen-Tung; Li Hu-I; Yin Chieh; Chu Ai-Li; Tseng Yung-Kang; Tseng Chiu-Ping; Cheng Hua-Chang; Lo Chih-Ying; Li Yao-Chang; Tien Ming-Hsuan; Cheng Chen-Yung; Hou Chin-Tien; Lin Shu-Ying; Fu Li-Chen; Chou-Lin Cheng; Yang Shu-Ya; Yeh Jung-Hui; Chen Yu-Ming; Tien Tzu-Lin; Chu Miao-Liang; Jan Shu-Chen; Wang Kung-Tang; Chiu Shang-Jen.
Graduate Interviews
Wu I-Chih: Vigorous at Ninety-Five
At ninety-five, Wu I-Chih was the college’s oldest graduate. A native of Shanghai and an outstanding graduate of Meiji University’s Department of Political Economy in Japan, he once served as principal of a girls’ school in Shanghai. At SunnyDay he took computer, English, morning exercise and other courses. At age ninety-four he passed his citizenship examination—an admirable achievement.
At the first commencement, Mr. Wu said that learning should continue for life and that reaching this day and taking part in such a celebration had not been easy. During his interview, he said SunnyDay’s leadership and staff cared very well for older adults in every respect; when he was hospitalized, they even visited him, which moved him deeply.
Cheng Chen-Yung: A Man of Many Talents
Eighty-two-year-old Cheng Chen-Yung was known at the college for talents in both the literary and performing arts. He painted, performed Chinese opera, danced, sang karaoke and practiced calligraphy. Every course at the college carried credit and offered both active and quiet learning. His health improved and his spirits became joyful. As he put it, “At SunnyDay we become innocent at heart again; SunnyDay is a cradle for a second childlike innocence.”
Tsui Shu-Yu: Fulfilling an Unfinished Dream
Tsui Shu-Yu and Tsui Cheng-Yin attended as a married couple and received their bachelor’s degrees together. Raised during a time of war and poverty, she had been unable to study as a child. She thanked the United States for social benefits that allowed older adults to fulfill childhood dreams, attend college and earn a degree, and she especially thanked SunnyDay for providing such fine courses.
Chen Yu-Ming: Active, Engaged and No Longer Alone
Though he looked only in his early sixties, Chen Yu-Ming was eighty. Formerly an attending physician at Shanghai Medical University, he came to SunnyDay each day despite heart and bone-growth conditions. He had his blood pressure checked, received heat treatments, exercised, studied computers and learned dancing. At home, music and television had left life lonely and uneventful. College courses kept his joints moving and brought him among peers, where he could make friends, share life experiences and feel more at ease. SunnyDay social workers also helped older adults with telephone bills, rent, public-benefit applications and language barriers. He believed college supported the body and mind while improving mood and intellect. To be studying at eighty, he said, was truly exciting.