Even during his years at a middle school in Yuan-lin County, Chen had to work at a pineapple factory to pay for his tuition fees.
考上了員林實驗中學，陳朝寶開始在課餘到鳳梨工廠打工，一切辛苦只為了向上。每天凌晨，即使是淒風苦雨，他都踩著腳踏車往員林飛奔，趕兩個鐘頭的路去上學。