CW Chu College The Chinese University of Hong Kong eNewsletter

In this Issue, Ms FUNG Yu Yan Mary from the Class of 2017 and Mr IP Chun Ho Michael from the Class of 2019 share about their undergraduate life at the College and/ or life after graduation.

By Ms FUNG Yu Yan Mary (Graduated in Term 2, 2016–17, Global Economics and Finance)

It is always pleasant to reminisce about my life at CW Chu College. I entered CWC because of Prof Kenneth YOUNG, Founding Master of the College. He introduced the College to me in a warm and welcoming recruitment talk. I could feel his passion for education, and still can today.

CWC gave me a lot of opportunities, including an exchange experience at the University of St Gallen in Switzerland (a famous business school in Europe). I also met some of my best friends in the College, including an exchange student from the UK (her name is Letizia and she was my Year 5 roommate). The friendships I have developed in the College are invaluable and ever-lasting.

I live on Hong Kong Island, which is quite far from CUHK. I lived at the College hostel during my normative study period, and it was the first time that I had not lived with my family. When I first arrived at the College hostel, seeing my room and my roommate, I regarded it my second home. High Table Dinners, communal dining and four-year full residence were highlights of my College life. My deep bonding with and affection for CWC and CUHK grew day by day. The College was a warm, comfy big family where I spent hundreds of nights.

After I graduated, I started working for the United Overseas Bank as a Management Associate and was trained/ stationed in various places (Singapore, Malaysia, Shanghai, Taiwan etc.). Currently, I specialise in risk management (balance sheet risk/ liquidity risk to be specific). I have just been chartered as Financial Risk Manager and am pursuing to be chartered as Certified Financial Analyst (Level III candidate currently). With my knowledge on commercial banking industry, I hope to share my life's ups and downs with juniors in the College. That is why I have joined the College Mentorship Scheme as a mentor. In the future, I am excited to widen my exposure in the finance industry. I will always keep our College motto, Cultus et Beneficentia, in mind.

By IP Chun Ho Michael (Graduated in Term 2, 2018–19, Sociology)

It has been another year since I graduated from CUHK in 2019. Choosing CW Chu College is one of the smartest decisions I have made as it has really enabled me to make an impact on our society.

I can still recall the day when the Founding Master Prof Kenneth YOUNG asked me, ‘What do you want to do with CWC during these four years?’ ‘I want to make it more famous and influential as it really looks nice,’ I replied. I think somehow my College mates and I have done this. I know a lot of alumni are doing good in their own positions, serving society and building a good reputation of CWC. I believe these can be attributed to the supportive environment of the College, the alumni's sense of belonging to it and their true commitment to its vision. Among these alumni are my lifelong friends that I have met in the College, who have become doctors, a nurse and a civil servant. We think differently, but we used to have meaningful discussions at night in the College hostel, chatting about our careers, social topics, or travel experiences. Even now, we still have regular basketball meetings and drink parties. We are still intimate.

CWC is also a place full of opportunities for our personal development. I participated in a College exchange programme to study in Budapest, Hungary. The experience was fruitful. I did solo travel to more than 10 countries, where I met new people, meditated under the Northern Lights, and cheered for the Croatia national football team (my favourite team) during the World Cup 2018. The relaxing journey gave me sufficient time to dive deep into my mind and think about my next step.

I was looking for an impactful and creative way to serve society in my third year at CUHK. I was then referred to a socially-minded company in the summer of 2018, and that was the beginning of my social entrepreneurship journey; I currently work there full time. My core duties are connecting stakeholders to create an ‘impact ecosystem’ in incubating our future social entrepreneurs. I also set up my social enterprise cultivating entrepreneurship with experiential events. In addition, I now work closely with the College to give its current students an entry position as summer intern in my company to be an individual with social-consciousness.

I like CWC, and my experience there has shaped me to be a better person. The learning journey was fabulous, and I am now a more active and courageous youngster, looking forward to supporting our next generation.