ZHUANG Junqi, Kaydon (BSSc student)

Interview by Yunyi "AJ" Chen

Introduce yourself!
I'm Kaydon from the BSSc stream in CCS.

Where are you from?
I am a mainlander from Shenzhen, but I applied to our center with grades from the prep school at SOAS (the School of Oriental and African Studies) in the UK.

What are you obsessed with lately?
Lately...Even when I am watching TV programs, I am thinking about the approaching capstone project deadline (laughs).

From the perspective of a final-year student, is there anything you wish you had known in your first year? "I wish I had known that back then..."
I don't, really... Well, if I have to say something, it would be about all the classes from other departments that I took, such as criminology, governance, politics... They were fun but also dragged down my GPA, so perhaps I should not have taken them! (laughs). Well, I still believe they were meaningful. I haven't really prioritized grades—I just wanted to learn useful things.

Any advice for incoming first-years?
Under the current study scheme, some students might be motivated to take many Mandarin courses just to pad their GPA... That's not necessary. Even though GPA is important, at the end of the day only courses that increase your knowledge and broaden your perspective are worth taking.

Great advice! If you had to summarize your college career in one word, what would it be?
It was...fine?

Fine?!  (Both laugh)
Actually... I am grateful. I disliked my experience studying in the UK. I cannot imagine what it would have been like had I stayed in the UK, instead of coming to Hong Kong. My friends in the UK said they could tell I wasn't in a good place when I was waiting for offers from Hong Kong. I knew that I wasn't in a good place, but I had no idea that it was also apparent to others. So I'm really grateful for the offer from CUHK. I also gained a lot here, not only academically, but in general.

Can we say you were spiritually enriched? (laughs)
That's one way of putting it... I think I do feel enriched mentally. Our department makes me feel warm. Maybe it's because I speak Cantonese, I interact a lot with our administrative officers. It's just really warm. We are also really close to the professors. We share a great relationship with them. It's not a huge department and everyone knows each other.

I feel this way too. We'll go with "grateful" for your one-word summary. Next question: what's your favorite memory at CCS? Like... the brightest memory?
The brightest memory would be our capstone project photo day from last week (note: Kaydon is the president of the CCS Student Association and organized the photo day for the capstone class). Graduation photos are important, and initially I was afraid that many people wouldn't show up. Since the official graduation photos are taken with the respective residential colleges, we thought that we should organize our own photo day for CCS. Before the photo day, we were scared that few people would show up. But on the day, all our instructors showed up, as well as Dr. Summers and Professor Lagerwey. In addition to all of our classmates, many underclassmen showed up too. I was touched. So many people came, and the vibe was good...

Back to being grateful. Can you tell me more about how CCS gave you a positive experience that differed from, for example, your experience in the UK?
When I was in SOAS, I took some politics classes. Politics, as you know, can be aggressive sometimes. In my view, the teachers and tutors at SOAS excessively pushed their own view of Chinese politics and society. Here in Hong Kong, our professors come from diverse backgrounds. They are all experts on China, and they don't try to impose set modes of thinking or perception on you. In the academic environment here, you can express your opinions fully without constantly being told what is "good" or "bad". Professors will give you lots of information and leave room for you to judge for yourself. There is a positive atmosphere for brainstorming and researching here, you can actually broaden your perspective.

Will you miss us?
I already do!

SHIN Jiyoon, Ella (BA)

Interview by Yunyi "AJ" Chen

Can you tell us about yourself?
I was born in South Korea but raised in China. I have lived in China for 7 to 8 years, and now my family lives in Vietnam.

In your final year, you must have more wisdom than you did in your first year.
I hope so (laughs).

What is something you wish someone had told you in your first year？
When I was applying for CCS at CUHK, most Korean students told me to apply for the social science stream. They said subjects like economics are more relevant to your life. After starting my studies, I realized that I am not really an economics person. After a while, I wanted to change to the arts stream, but since most of my Korean classmates were in the social science stream, I was afraid to be isolated. Professor Ling spoke with me about the value of the arts stream and I eventually decided to take my chances. Later, I learned that some of my classmates stayed in the social science stream simply because others were staying…

So how do you feel about that, after being in the arts stream?
I feel more comfortable. It is more suitable for me, and it feels good to follow your heart.

Can you describe your university experience in one word?
Diversity.

Can you explain a bit?
Initially, I thought I was going to hang out more with Korean students, but I found out that I was more comfortable with my Chinese classmates. Some people said I was an awkward person because I didn't hang out with Korean people. But why is it awkward? Just hang out with your friends and the people you like!

Can you share your favorite memory at CCS?
Peking life. It was mandatory for us to go to Peking University in year 2. When I was young, Peking University was my dream school, and CUHK helped me to go there. It was a good experience.

What was your favorite thing about that experience?
Learning Chinese. I studied at an international school for 7 years, and the curriculum there only had an hour-long Chinese class per week, so my Chinese was never that good. At Peking University, I got to really study Chinese and develop fluency.

Will you miss us?
Yes. When I was younger, I really wanted to study Chinese literature, and coming to CCS allowed me to study Chinese literature in depth, to learn more about Lu Xun, Eileen Chang and other writers... And watching Chinese dramas was also fun (laughs).

What are your plans after graduation?
I want to stay in China, but my parents want me to go back to Korea, so we are still debating. I'm more comfortable in China as I grew up here.

Any parting words for the students and faculty at CCS?
If you have a chance, take arts stream courses! They are really fun. Take them at least once. I recommend China on Screen and Modern Chinese Literature!