Time for Students April 2004,

It's hard to believe, but true "role models do still "exist.Take for example Shen Hsin-Ling of Douliu, Yunlin County. She is a computer whiz kid who also spends her time helping people. Only 14 years old, she has already earned over 20 -specialist's "licenses in "computing software. She has also been paid to design over 30 *websites for various companies. Moreover, she has developed free "educational websites for students on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Most important of all, however, is that she earned the "praise of Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian and the nation.

Gloomy Childhood
Shen Hsin-Ling had to 2overcome -major educational obstacles. Her family was not well off, to say the least. They made a living by selling clothes at a street stand, and had to follow business wherever it went.Because their life wasn't stable, Shen's parents weren't able to send her to "kindergarten. Instead, she had to help them sell clothes at the tonight market.

Her parents worked very hard to give her a good 'education, despite their troubles. "My father was my "mentor and my mother was his helper," Shen Hsin-Ling says. "It was all because my father taught me everyday how to read and write," she adds. Mr. Shen also taught Xin-Ling, his only child, to add and "subtract, and even to speak some simple English. Her father didn't understand computers, but he found a way tohelp her learn about them when she later showed ointerest in the world of electronics.

In fourth "grade, her teacher Hsu Jian-liang –encouraged Shen to take computer classes. Luckily for Shen, her family's "economic 'situation had improved. Her parents
"gathered together enough money to buy her a computer. They also spent some of their hard-earned money shiring "local college students to 'otutor her at home.

Her parents' sacrifice was not lost on Shen. She knew through 2experience how hard it was for her parents to earn money. "Every time I thought of the money they spent on my education, I would push myself to study more and even help with a household "chores after studying," says Shen. Thanks to her strong "drive to study, within one year she learned nearly everything there was to know about designing a 'web page. By fifth grade, she had designed her first web page. And by the end of the year, she had already created her own nelectronic workshop.

Sharing
Shen Hsin-Ling is no 'selfish girl. She shows a strong a sense of 'filial piety and respect for her elders. The web page she designed to help her parents sell clothes increased their earnings -dramatically. For Mid-Autumn Festival last year, she designed another web page to help her grandfather and his friends sell off their *excess pomelos, a 'traditional fruit grown in Douliu. Amazingly, she helped them "get rid of over 30,000 "kilos of the delicious festival fruit.

Her 'generosity goes even "further. During the 'SARS soutbreak, she "printed 300 sT-shirts for the nurses, doctors and government workers fighting SARS, spending over NT$100,000. She is even donating all the "prize money from her web design contests (tens of thousands) to help children of poor families get better educations. Not only is she a whiz at her studies, but she's also become a great role model. In this day of greedy tocapitalism, excessive individualism and loose imorals, Shen Hsin-Ling seems like an angel that fell out of heaven.

難以置信,不過真正的楷模確實還存在。雲林縣斗六的沈芯就是一例。她不但是個電腦神童也利用時間幫助別人。年做十四歲的她,已經取得二十多種的電腦軟體專業證照。她也收費替許多公司架設了三十多個網站.此外,她還為海峽兩岸的學生開發了免費教學網站。不過,最重要的是,她贏得了陳水扁總統及全台灣人民的講美。

黯淡的童年
沈芯菱小時候得克服大的教育阻礙。她的家境絕對不寬裕。他們一家人靠擺地攤賣衣服維生,哪裡有生意就得往哪裡去。因為生活不是很穩定,所以沈芯的父母無法送地上幼稚園。相反地,她必須忙雙親在夜市費衣服。
縱使困難重重,她的父母仍十分努力工作,讓她受到良好的教育。沈芯菱說:「爸爸是我的良師益友,媽媽則是他的好幫手。」她接著說:「都是因為爸爸每天教我讀書寫字。」沈先生教導獨生女芯加法減法,甚至教她說簡單的英文。她父親不懂電腦,但是後來發現芯菱對電子世界有興趣,他還是出辦法來讓女兒學電腦。

芯菱了解父母親作的犧牲。她體驗過雙親賺錢的辛勞。芯菱說:「每次當我想到爸媽花那麼多錢供我書,我就會鞭策自己要更認真讀書,而且讀完書還要幫忙做家事。」由於她強大的學習動力,一年內她差不多學會了關於設計網頁的一切。升上五年級後,她設計了生平第一個網站到了五年級未,她已經創立了自己個人的電子工作坊。

芯菱不是個自私的女孩.她很有孝心,懂得敬老尊賢。她設計來幫忙爸媽費衣服的網站大幅增加了他們的收入。去年中秋節她設計了另一個網站,幫忙爺跟爺爺的朋友把過剩的柚子費出去,柚子是斗六產的傳統水果。結果很驚人,她幫忙賣掉三萬多公斤這種好吃的應景水果。

她的慷慨大方還不只於此。SARS流行期間,她花了台幣十萬多塊印製三百件恤.送給抗煞的護士、醫生、以及政府人員。她甚至捐出網頁設計比賽的全部獎金(好幾萬元)來幫清寒兒童,讓他們能夠接受更好的教育。她不僅在學業上是神童,也是最佳凱模。當今世界盛行賞婪的資本主義、過度的個人主義、以及鬆散的道德標準。沈芯菱好比從天堂掉落凡間的天使。