CW Chu College The Chinese University of Hong Kong eNewsletter

Mr Inderdeep Singh BATRA (from the 2016–17 cohort), Ms LEE Tsz Ching Percy (from the 2016–17 cohort) and Mr ZHENG Sike (from the 2015–16 cohort) have shared with us their reflections on College life throughout their undergraduate studies.

By Mr Inderdeep Singh BATRA (Year 5, Systems Engineering and Engineering Management)

It is hard to believe that my stay at CW Chu College has almost come to an end. Time flew by during my four years at university. I can firmly say that College life has played a huge role in shaping my personality and has been one of my best experiences at CUHK.

I still remember vividly the first few days I spent at CWC. The College Orientation Camp immediately helped me to develop a sense of belonging to the College and I met a few people who, gladly, turned out to always have my back during my stay here. I have made several new friends from various parts of the world, including mainland China, Kyrgyzstan, Germany and Malaysia. My roommate in Year 3, who was from Berlin, introduced me to the interesting German language, culture and history. I have been very fortunate to have lived in the supportive and intimate environment at CWC that has helped me to get one of the best educations I could hope for, and made possible a host of opportunities to develop my interpersonal skills and engage in a wide variety of cross-cultural experiences.

During the four years I spent in the College, I had myriad opportunities to partake in exciting and memorable activities, including watching multiple movies with friends in the TV Room of the College as well as tasting Pasta Fredda and Prosecco during the Italian Cultural Night. Moreover, I enhanced my personal and intellectual growth by actively participating in various career-oriented workshops and mentorship activities, and also took up different positions of responsibility. I was a member of the Student Honour Code Committee where I helped to oversee the implementation of the College Honour Code. I also promoted cultural diversity in the College by co-hosting an Indian Cultural Night in January 2018, where people got an opportunity to learn about Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, and Rangoli. The event was a great success and I was glad that everyone enjoyed it. Additionally, I enjoyed representing CWC in the Inter-Collegiate Table Tennis Competition for three consecutive years. I feel that these experiences really helped to develop as well as further strengthen my relationship with the College.

I have grown a lot over the past few years and have nothing but gratitude to the College for playing an integral role in my self-growth during my studies at CUHK. I will always treasure my College life. I wish my fellow College students a fruitful and rewarding stay at CWC and beyond.

By Ms LEE Tsz Ching Percy (Year 4, Food and Nutritional Sciences)

A year ago, I would have never thought that my hostel life in CW Chu College (CWC) would end like this, and yet here we are. I was so excited about all the thrilling adventures waiting ahead while checking off my university bucket list as a proper way of saying goodbye to my wild and careless youth, and yet here we are.

I can never be more grateful for all the warmth and love CWC has given me over the past four years. To me, it is not just a temporary place to lodge in for school but an oasis for me to grow out of my comfort zone and explore my true values. Grasping the concept of independence in adulthood, I gained the ability of not just taking care of myself but also building a healthy balanced relationship with others. I assembled my very first ideas about future careers and life aspirations in CWC with the help of my generous and loving mentors as well as my fellows. All the little bits and bobs here have contributed to who I am today.

My most memorable experience in this College was the organization of the CWC Festival for the College's 10th anniversary. It was the first time that I led some of my teammates to organise one major part (the sports games) of such a large-scale celebration, and I truly learnt a lot from it. I can still vividly remember all the sleepless nights we had, trying to build the most fantastic festival with cardboard boxes and old newspapers. There were numerous times when I wanted to give up so bad, but hung in there for all the support from my teammates. We were not doing this for the sake of money or tradition, but to promote the true CWC spirit to other students. We wanted them to know, to understand and to appreciate the real CW Chu College rather than just superficially consider it as a hotel-like hostel. The event went very well eventually, and left my College mates with an unforgettable once-in-a-life-time experience. If I was given the chance to do it all over again, I would still devote myself to it despite all the hardness and pain.

The world is ever changing, especially in these turbulent times. There are many things that we cannot say for sure, but one thing I am certain with is that my four-year student life in CWC is going to leave a mark in my heart, and I will never forget that once upon a time, I was a proud CWC student.

By Mr ZHENG Sike (Year 5, Integrated BBA Programme)

I am very glad that I chose CWC as my College. This College is small, but there are still many interesting student activities and events. One of the College's distinctive feature is the Student Honour Code Committee modelled on the honour code system with a long and cherished tradition in Western colleges. Every September, the Honour Code Pledging Ceremony is held for Year 1 College students to pledge to adhere to an honourable standard of behaviour, and to be upright and decent. I am glad that I was given the opportunity to be the Chair of the Committee and exerted my efforts in stewarding the Honour Code. During my term of office, my teammates and I held a video contest to foster a mutually respectful College environment, which drew a lot of attention from our College mates. We also helped to handle their disciplinary matters and complaints. Although sometimes there was no absolute right or wrong regarding their complaints, upholding the integrity belief would always help you make good decisions. I have learnt a lot after dealing with the cases our committee encountered.

The College does not only enlighten me about ethics, but also about friendships. Every one of us will leave the College one day, but it does not mean that we will not be able to meet one another again, as long as we want to. One summer, my former roommate Mr Jesus EGUREN MARCO and I travelled to Tokyo together after we finished all our exams. Jesus was an exchange student from Spain, and he has dreamt about travelling in Asian countries for a long time. I have also been interested in Japanese culture since I was a kid. So we made Tokyo our destination.

What made this trip more wonderful was that there we met my old friend Mr Noritaka YAGI, who last semester was a Japanese exchange student in CWC. How lucky we were to be able to reunite again. We met in a barbecue restaurant recommended by Nori, just like I had recommended a restaurant to Nori when he was in Hong Kong. We caught up with one another and reminisced about our lives in CWC. During the time we had been apart, each of us had so many different experiences, but what we had in common was lovely memories of CWC, and I am sure that these can always bonds us together.

(Sike had originally planned to graduate in Term 2, 2018–19, so as a member of the Graduating Class 2019, he shared about his College life in Issue 21 of this Newsletter. Because of his extension of study period, he will graduate in Term 2, 2019–20 instead and therefore has become a member of the Graduating Class 2020.)