Are you proud of what you have done in the past 10 years?”
This is a popular Cantonese pop song lyric that I have been asking myself frequently. Last year, when I entered my thirties, I realized that almost a decade has passed since I graduated from my Bachelor’s degree in organizational communication.
10 years ago, as a university student, I joined a global exchange initiative founded by my mentor in Hong Kong and visited India. During a visit to a slum in Mumbai, I learned an important lesson about not putting ourselves in an arrogant position when doing international volunteer work. Instead, we should have an open mind to embrace different cultures, make friends, and learn from others.
This has also been an important reminder for me when starting my youth charity work. Instead of seeing ourselves as agents of change in others’ lives, we are simply providing a platform for our young talents to shine.
After graduation, I worked as a public relations officer and editorial board member for a boutique travel company. I was lucky to have been involved in various projects with tourism boards, airlines, hotels, and other industry seniors.
Later, I transitioned into a corporate communication role, overseeing the CSR project of the company of the year and supporting various stakeholder engagements for a power supply company in Hong Kong. It was a truly rewarding experience that led me to think deeper about the difficulties faced by grassroots families in Hong Kong and paved the way for my future projects on youth development, especially for underprivileged students.
After that, I returned to the travel industry and worked in another local media for 3 years, and gradually I chose to devote myself further for the social impact sector.
Along the way, I was fortunate to study in Singapore, where I pursued a degree in public administration in the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and learnt a lot of new friends who are passionate for driving the betterment for their communities.
After graduating, I joined AVPN, a social investment ecosystem that has been around for 10 years and has over 600 institutional members across 33 regions in Asia. Through this organization, I have had the opportunity to make many new friends from Singapore and Southeast Asia.
On this journey of ups and downs, there are still many stories waiting to be uncovered, and many projects to be explored. I look forward to returning one day after completing my studies, and still being able to maintain the same passion and original intention that I had when I first started.