Breaking through challenges, Seeing my true colours
Finding true life purpose is important. The most special thing the university can offer is the numerous possibilities out there for you to learn by “trial and error”, to explore your path and to challenge yourself.
Whether to stay or to study abroad is often a difficult choice for local IB students like me. At that crossroad, I did originally plan to study in Canada, but by chance, I came across that HKUST was offering a program in Biotechnology and Business, which is a close combination to my favourite Biology and Economics. Being able to stay in Hong Kong and to study the subject I really like; without haste, i dismissed the idea of studying abroad.
The program is jointly offered by the School of Science and the School of Business and Management. So I managed to enjoy the flexibility to take electives across schools, allocating how much I wanted to learn between biotechnology and business, customizing the mode of learning that suited me at best. I still recalled the first summer I spent at a chemical laboratory in Mauritius. During this short-term internship, I tested water and food samples from different establishments day in and day out … and realized that laboratory work was not for me. With such understanding, I figure out my real goals gradually and am ready to move on to explore other interests.
Finding true life purpose is important. The most special thing the university can offer is the numerous possibilities out there for you to learn by “trial and error”, to explore your path and to challenge yourself. Like many people do, the biggest challenge for me was public speaking. I know I couldn’t hide for life, so I decided not to sit back and relax, but to confront and breakthrough the fear inside me. I took the chance to be a School of Science Peer Mentor and participated in the Student Ambassador program, through which I got different face-to-face sharing opportunities. I also flew to Tokyo to share my university life with local students there. Little by little, I let go of the anxiety and take the courage to speak in front of big crowds, becoming more and more confident in public speaking.
In my final year, I was being promoted to Head Student Ambassador, aiding me to further develop my leadership and management skills. I found I really enjoy teamwork and treasure communications. All the experiences I had at HKUST get me ready for workplace adaptation, make me dare to put forward my idea and suggestions to my seniors. Unexpectedly, it turns out that finding interest in the things you originally feared, treating each challenge as an opportunity to expand your expertise, and bravely stepping out of your comfort zone; all these is the real beginning of growth.
