Rick France

ACES的創辦人Rick來自美國賓州的匹茲堡， 1991年他自卡內基美濃大學畢業後就來到台灣。原本只想來東方看看以開拓視野的他，並未計畫長留台灣，但台灣人的友善好客以及他對教學的熱愛讓他留下。12年後，與Tammy結婚成了台灣女婿，並有兩個可愛的孩子-Farrah及Brady，Rick早已將台灣視為他的第二個家。自1998年Rick創立ACES民生本班至今，在許多死忠的學生和家長們的支持下，ACES已括展為民生、東湖、麗山、大直、汐止、新店、板橋、羅東、台中、高雄、林口及新莊十二間學校。這些年的教學與經營，他最大的欣慰就是看著ACES的學生們能夠正確又自在的運用英文表達事情。

I’m Rick. I was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. I graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1991. The following year, I came to Taiwan seeking to broaden my horizons and gain a deeper understanding of the world from a different point of view. I never imagined I would make Taiwan my home, but the hospitality of the people and my love for the teaching profession convinced me to extend my stay. Twelve years later, I married a wonderful woman, Tammy, and we soon had two beautiful little kids, Farrah and Brady. Two more reasons for me to call Taiwan my home.
I opened the doors of the Minsheng ACES in 1998 with the enthusiastic support of lots of loyal students and their parents. Today, we have twelve ACES branches spreading our brand of outstanding English language training to the future leaders of Taiwan. Despite the tremendous success of ACES schools, my greatest professional joy is seeing my current or former students and hearing them use English accurately and effectively to express themselves with confidence. It is my hope that these students may go on to use their English abilities to make a better life for themselves, and to make Taiwan and the Earth a better place.

Joshua Carruthers

大家好，我是Joshua Carruthers。我出生於美國密歇根州的大急流城，這是一個活潑可愛的小鎮。在我所有的學習過程中，我熱愛閱讀和觀察，並在密歇根州阿連達爾的大谷州立大學得到了刑事司法和法律學位。當我在非營利組織救世軍實習教導青少年時，得到了很大的成就感。 後來我在法律界從事少年教管人員，後來發現自己更適合當一位教育者。經過深思熟慮之後，我在2010年來到台灣並開始教書，且愛上了這個美麗的島嶼、文化和民情。從那之後我一直在台灣教書，ACES就像我的家一樣，期待與您在課堂上相見！

Hello all, my name is Joshua Carruthers. I was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a lively and lovely little town. Throughout all of my schooling I have carried a love for reading and detail, and I pursued a criminal justice and legal degree at Grand Valley State University in Allendale Michigan.  While interning for the Non-profit organization, the Salvation Army, I found great accomplishment in educating youth. I continued into the legal profession as a juvenile corrections officer, but found much more of a calling towards educating. After much deliberation, I came to Taiwan to teach in 2010, and fell in love with this beautiful island, the culture and the people. I have been teaching in Taiwan ever since and feel like I’ve found a home here at ACES. See you in the classroom!

Malcolm McWhirter

你好，我是Malcolm。我來自華盛頓州西雅圖市。我在華盛頓西部大學讀國際商務系。我對外語和不同的文化有興趣。我之前住在桃園區，在那邊工作還有在中央大學學中文。休閒時間，我喜歡去河邊騎腳踏車或找戶外可以運動的地方。我剛剛搬來台北，很興奮加入ACES，我們課堂上見。

Hello, I’m Malcolm! I’m originally from Seattle, WA. I studied international business at Western Washington University. I’m interested in foreign languages and different cultures. I first lived in Taoyuan county where I was able to work and study Chinese at National Central University. In my free time you can find me riding my bicycle along the riverside or finding cool places to exercise outside. I just recently moved to Taipei and I’m excited to be a part of ACES. See you in class.

Bryn Chacon

大家好！我叫來恩。我來自華盛頓州西北部的小鎮瓦拉瓦拉。自從2013年作為交換生來到臺灣的中壢，我開始對語言充滿熱情。在那時，我開始學習中文，並接觸到許多其他語言，這促使我在華盛頓大學攻讀語言學學位，深入研究中文和語言的其他方面。

自從我第一次離開臺灣以來，我一直渴望回去再次享受這裡的生活。我終於實現了這個夢想，自那時以來一直在臺北教書。在業餘時間，我喜歡發掘新餐廳、徒步旅行和喝咖啡。臺灣是一個美麗的地方，有友好勤勞的人們。我希望能激發學生對語言的熱情，提升他們的英語水平。我們在課堂上見！

Hi everyone! My name’s Bryn. I’m from Walla Walla, a small town in the northwest USA. I’ve had a strong passion for languages ever since I came to Taiwan in 2013 to be an exchange student for a year in Zhongli. I started learning Mandarin and was exposed to many other languages while I was there, which led me to pursue my degree in Linguistics from the University of Washington where I studied Mandarin and other aspects of language.

Ever since I first left Taiwan, I’ve constantly been wanting to return and live life here again. I finally realized that dream and have been teaching in Taipei ever since. In my free time I enjoy trying new restaurants, hiking, and drinking coffee. Taiwan is a beautiful place with friendly and hardworking people. I hope I can instill a passion for language in my students and bring their English skills to the next level. See you in class.