Welcoming Back Three Alumni to Talk About Books and College Memories

On Thursday 22 September, the Morningside community excitedly hosted three alumni for a reception with students, where they discussed literature and shared memories of their college days. These three alumni were Kelvin Choy (Sociology, 2016), Jun Li (Journalism, 2014), and Joshua Ngai (Sociology, 2014). Each of them introduced a book that recently shaped their thinking on social or professional issues.

As recounted by Venice Fong, Morningside’s venerable Advancement Manager, “Joshua, who is a barrister,” introduced Maurice Leblanc’s The Adventures of Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Thief (1907), and “talked about his fascination when reading about the art of the gentleman-thief, as well as his views on crime.” Jun is a film director who has won the Golden Horse Award for best adapted screenplay for his film Drifting (2021). He picked Nigel Collett’s A Death in Hong Kong: the MacLennan Case of 1980 and the Suppression of a Scandal (2018). Jun aims “to explore social issues and power inequalities. The book he picked recorded the judicial and social dynamics of Hong Kong back in the 1980s and 1990s.” Kelvin is the business development manager of a film company, and has a keen interest in the social sciences. He recommended One World (1943) by Wendell Wilkie, a former American politician. Willkie “described the concept of globalization back in 1943”.

Students quizzed the alumni on their book choices, and shared their own interests in books on politics, the social sciences, history, and some novels. Speaking of careers was off the day’s agenda, but Kelvin and Josh spoke of how they participated in a drama festival together as students, and continue to meet professionally for their work in the film industry; Jun and Joshua first met as roommates at Morningside.