Tu Tzu-ling, a student at National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST), won a gold medal in the CNC lathe operation category in the just-concluded National Skills Competition, taking many people by surprise.

Speaking at a ceremony at the Central Region Vocational Training Center in Taichung City Monday in which President Ma Ying-jeou conferred her gold medal upon her, Tu said that after graduating from junior high school, she chose to study at a vocational school, majoring in lathe operating. In the first two years, she recalled, she was often reduced to tears, particularly when her face was showered with sparks or hot metal fragments.

“My father, who is also a lathe operator, tried to dissuade me from continuing, but somehow I managed to get through it, “ she said.

Tu got her first vocational license for lathe operation in her first year studying at NPUST.

“Things are much easier for me now, as we use CNC lathes, “she said, adding that these are less physically demanding for the operator.

Tu was not the only medalist at Monday's award-presentation ceremony to surprise the audience.

Yang Tzu-chia, a male college student majoring in electrical engineering, won the gold medal in flower arranging.

Yang, whose parents run a homestay in Puli, Nantou County, said he became interested in gardening when he was a child.

After entering college, he went on, he often hung around after school at a florist's owned by his aunt, where he developed a flair for flower arranging.

Addressing the ceremony, Ma said vocational education is the root of a nation's industrial development and one of the support columns for the development of small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Noting that the winners of the nationwide skill competition might be offered the chance to represent Taiwan at WorldSkills London 2011 — the largest international vocational skills competition in the world — Ma also exhorted them and other vocational students to sharpen their English language skills.