Chloe CHOW Nga-yau, a Year 2 student at CityU's Department of Public Policy, stands out as one of the five awardees of the HSBC Overseas Scholarship 2021/22. Admitted to the Joint Bachelor's Degree Program between City University of Hong Kong and Columbia University earlier, Chloe says the Scholarship will cover part of the tuition fee of her study in the US.
Born to a low-income family and benefited from financial aid when she was younger, Chloe aspires to be a policymaker by applying what she learnt to improve people's livelihoods from the policy level. Step by step, she has been working hard towards achieving her goal. She selected the Public Policy and Politics programme at CityU, which allows her to build a strong foundation in subjects like urban policy and international relations. An eye-opening internship experience in a policy research institution, where she was given opportunities to participate in different community research projects, also gave her valuable insights into Hong Kong's poverty issue.
Hoping to gain international exposure, meet people from all walks of life and be trained to deal with problems and issues with a more diversified mindset and angles, she applied for the Joint Degree Program and succeeded after a stringent interview process. But she soon found herself in a dilemma. "On the one hand, I am very happy and honoured to have the chance to study at an Ivy League Institution, as it would be a life-changing experience. On the other hand, personal finance has always been a concern for me, although my parents keep asking me not to be too worried," she shares. So she was much relieved when receiving the award notification. A sense of happiness from being recognised by one of Hong Kong's leading corporations has come afterwards. "The scholarships mean a lot to me, not just financially, but also the recognition to my academic achievement and the possibility that I can bring a change to Hong Kong's welfare policies," she says.
Apart from demonstrating a commitment to Hong Kong, having an outstanding GPA is also a major requirement for the Scholarship. While Chloe says there are no secrets to her academic success, it seems that planning ahead and being self-disciplined are keys. "I try not to procrastinate and read the course readings before each lecture and tutorial, making me confident to share my own findings and opinions derived from the course contents. I think discussions are crucial for learning, especially for subjects like political science, which have no model answers actually," she shares. Chloe also trained herself to comment on what is happening around the world using the political concepts learnt from the lessons. For her, that is a powerful tool for tackling essay or exam questions.
