Roy Lai arrived at the University of Maine two years ago to pursue a double major in business and mass communication. The 22-year-old Taiwan native came to the University of Maine from Los Angeles.
“My mom wanted me to transfer to a better school,” Lai, who left L.A. after three years to focus on his education and escape from the distractions of city life, said.
Lai, who has lived in the United States for five years, moved from Taiwan to the U.S. to pursue an education. Upon completing his degree in December, Lai intends to move to Tokyo, Japan to pursue a master’s degree in international business. “I’ve been to Tokyo a few times,” Lai said regarding his big upcoming move, “but only to have a good time, never to study. And I don’t speak any Japanese, so it’s going to be interesting.”
Despite not knowing Japanese, Lai can speak English, Taiwanese, Chinese and Korean. Being multilinguistic is only one of the many international traits Lai has. Being an avid traveller, Lai has been to countries all over the world, including Australia, New Zealand, the Czech Republic and Vietnam. “One place I’m dying to go is the United Kingdom,” Lai, who initially planned to go to the UK for graduate school, said.
Lai had also considered the United States, in addition to the UK and Tokyo, as a place to pursue his master’s degree, but just recently came to a decision on Tokyo. “I’m really looking forward to it,” Lai said.
Upon earning his master’s degree, Lai hopes to return to Taiwan and work in finance. “I’d like to work in some stock or trading company.”
While the stock market is something Lai has set in his sights for his post-graduate future, he has already dabbled in the market, making trading one of his many hobbies back in Taiwan. “I participated in the stock market back in Taiwan,” Lai said. “It’s very similar to the structure of the U.S. market, just the price, share name and currency are different.” Lai, who admittedly said that he “did pretty well” while trading in the Taiwanese market, enjoys a variety of other hobbies while home, including basketball, baseball, pool and scary movies.
With only a few weeks left until graduating from the University of Maine, Lai admits he is ready to “get out of the cold.”
“This is by far the coldest place I have ever lived.” as the business student said. With that said, Lai is ready to take on his next big adventure (and hopefully warmer climate) in Tokyo.
