Lee Wing-shan—Outstanding Student Award for Three Consecutive Years

Lee Wing-shan

• Year 4 Student of Professional Accountancy Programme
• Recipient of Lee Woo Sing (WS) College Outstanding Student Award in 2016, 2017, 2018

 

How do you feel about being awarded outstanding student for three years in a row?

It’s like serial surprises. Being awarded for my work as the choir officer of the Woo Sing (WS) Choir──which I regarded as doing my best only──under the category of Engagement in Arts and Culture Appreciation in 2016 was a surprise to me! A year later, I was surprised again by receiving the award for organizing green activities. This year, I did not expect to get it the third time, but nonetheless got it for my services to the College. I’m grateful to Prof. Stanley Hui, Dean of Students, WS College, and Ms. Ruth Chung, honorary music director of the WS Choir, for nominating me for the award and my parents for their full support. The award is not only the recognition and bonus of my work, but also drives me to strive for excellence.

What do you appreciate the most in the College?

It’s its caring environment. I’ve lived in hostel for the past four years. Hostel tutors will visit each room and deliver fruits to cheer us up during exam periods. They could just leave the fruits in the pantry but instead they deliver warmth and care as well by visiting every room and student. There was a time when a hallmate took time to make some soup for all the hostel students. Life in WS College is filled with love and care.

You are an active member in the WS Choir and voluntary services. Why?

I was a choir member in primary and secondary schools. I saw the good performance of the WS Choir at the College’s orientation dinner and joined it without giving a second thought. One of my assignments in the College General Education course was visiting a home for the aged. While I learnt a lot from the elderly who shared their life experiences with us though we had never met before, I saw that their plight was also due to uneven wealth distribution and inadequate social security. This fuels my passion for voluntary services to contribute to the society.

Any unforgettable moments?

The WS Choir was invited to represent CUHK to take part in the Pine League Performance last November at Peking University. Other participating universities included Tsinghua University and National Taiwan University. As the performance dates clashed with the exams, I had to explain to our members on the procedure of applying for make-up examinations to settle their worries. Another issue was inadequate time for practice. We only got a two-hour practice session per week, not to mention the finale joint performance by the four universities had only one rehearsal before the show. Given that, we managed to give a wonderful performance. It was really exhilarating.

Why the Professional Accountancy Programme at CUHK?

It began with a misunderstanding. My sister, also an accounting major, told me it’s easy stuff. Simple arithmetic will do. Since I intended to study business anyway, why not? But the more I learn, the more I realize accounting is not as simple as what I had thought. There’s so much more──regulations and practices──behind the numbers. To be honest, accounting is not my favourite subject, but it’s useful in financial analysis.

How do you feel about your internship in Beijing and Hong Kong?

I do not have my mind set on a career in accounting. So I applied for internship in a Beijing startup company and the Global Banking Division of Hang Seng Bank, respectively. I worked for a month in the startup company and was responsible for translating the information kit into English and uploaded it to the Internet. The working environment was free and the staff were given a free hand which is similar to any overseas startup. For the eight months in the bank, my job was compiling monthly operational and internal risk reports which has enriched my understanding of the real business world.

Please talk about your exchange experiences.

I went to the University of Western Australia, Fudan University and Tsinghua University for one to three weeks exchanges. Australian students would ask questions if they don’t understand and are proactive in expressing their views. This is not common in Hong Kong’s classrooms. During the trip to the mainland, we got to meet some people whom one doesn’t normally meet──such as diplomatic personnel──and learn about their work. It was an eye-opening experience.

What are your plans upon graduation?

I plan to work and sit for the Chartered Financial Analyst exam. I will stay at the WS Choir as an alumna and will also continue my voluntary work.

This article was originally published in No. 520, Newsletter in Jun 2018.

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students overseas exchange awards School of Accountancy Faculty of Business Administration voluntary services