In 2025, as Taiwan Tech celebrates its 50th anniversary, alumni from all walks of life gather in joyful reunion. Among them are many whose unique life journeys are well worth exploring and sharing. One such alumnus is Jui-Jen Huang, a graduate of the Taiwan Tech Department of Materials Science and Engineering. His diverse career path has taken him from professional soldier to engineer at TSMC, to entrepreneur and film director. He has chronicled his challenging yet inspiring journey in the book “Live Your Life as a Good Story”, using the concept of “story” as a central theme to reflect on and analyze different perspectives on life.

Alumnus from Taiwan Tech Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Rui-Ren Huang, has taken on many roles throughout his life and chronicled his journey in the book “Live Your Life as a Good Story”.

Using his own experience as an example, Rui-Ren Huang shared that after graduating from a five-year junior college and completing his voluntary military service, he was only able to gain admission to Taiwan Tech Department of Materials Science and Engineering after auditing classes for an entire year. In his book, he writes: “When you truly want to study, you become good at it. The key lies in that desire.”

He further explains the difference between persistence and redirection: “Wanting to try is turning to start running; thinking it through is switching tracks to sprint.” He believes that youth is one's greatest asset, adding: “It’s not about being afraid of taking the wrong path - what matters is not lining up in the wrong queue.” On the battlefield of life’s trials, there is no such thing as the wrong path - as long as you don’t waste time doing nothing, every step becomes part of the scenery.

Rui-Ren Huang believes that a journey fueled by imagination is often a risky one - but it is imagination that opens the door to greater possibilities.

When speaking of his mentor at Taiwan Tech, Professor Chia-Pyng Lee, Rui-Ren Huang recalled, “The most memorable thing was never about what he taught, but what he did with us.” He fondly remembers how, after weekly seminar discussions every Saturday, the lab group would have lunch together and then head to Maokong for tea in the afternoon. Professor Lee accompanied them like a father figure - an experience that left a lasting impression on Huang.

Before joining TSMC, Huang worked as a process integration engineer at a 12-inch wafer fab at Powerchip Semiconductor. Reflecting on that time in life when he had yet to fully anchor his identity, he believed in the importance of “proactively defining one’s role.” Once a person develops a solid worldview and historical perspective, they can better assess the situation and use their influence effectively. That mindset led him to join TSMC, where he worked for five years.

“To proactively define your role is to choose who you want to become; to assess the situation is to choose the right moment to become that person”, he said.

Rui-Ren Huang made the bold decision to leave his high-paying job as an R&D engineer at TSMC to pursue entrepreneurship in the audiovisual and cultural creative industry.

However, when recalling the bold decision to leave his high-paying R&D position at TSMC to start his own business in the audiovisual and cultural creative industry, Rui-Ren Huang candidly shares in his book the difficulties that followed - including moments when he had to make phone calls asking others for job opportunities. Yet he came to understand that all of it was part of the story. Without the lows, he writes, there can be no “good story.”

Alumnus from Taiwan Tech Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Rui-Ren Huang, has taken on diverse roles throughout his life - including professional soldier, TSMC engineer, and entrepreneur-turned-director - and has chronicled his journey in the book Live Your Life as a Good Story.

Rui-Ren Huang emphasizes that while many people spend their lives “looking for a mentor,” true mentors are not found - they come to you when you become the answer to someone’s question. “A mentor doesn’t appear because you search for one; they appear when you become the solution, and they come to you with a question”, he explains. Reflecting on his own journey, he recalls that his mentors - Teacher Li-Hua Chen in junior high, Professor Cheng-Chung Lee during his technical college years, and Professor Chia-Pyng Lee in graduate school - were all his teachers during different stages of his academic life. It wasn’t until he later served as a part-time lecturer at several schools that he truly realized: the greatest achievement for a teacher is their students. He expressed with emotion that after entering the workforce, he came to understand that you are your own mentor, because only by blessing others do you receive blessings in return. “Someone lights your path because your light has the power to brighten the world.”

Looking back, Huang believes that a journey fueled by imagination is always a risky one - but it is imagination that opens the door to greater possibilities. By first deconstructing one’s own life and then harnessing the power of storytelling, he believes one can better foresee the future - and ultimately, live a truly good story.

Taiwan Tech alumnus Rui-Ren Huang spoke of his mentor, Professor Chia-Pyng Lee, saying, “What left the deepest impression was never what he taught, but what he did with us.”