In 1975, Yu Guangzhong, the poet of nostalgia, looked out from his dormitory at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and marveled at its inexhaustible green hills and humanistic sentiments.

In the same year, a distinguished leader in the financial sector, Hong Kong banker and the first Chinese Chairman of HSBC, Vincent Cheng, also graduated from CUHK. 

In the 59 years since its establishment, numerous literary figures and scholars have set sail from here.

For Andy Chong, a CISK Class of 2022 graduate, it has always been his dream to study IBBA (Integrated Bachelor of Business Administration) at the University of Hong Kong, which is surrounded by mountains and beautiful scenery, and he has successfully received an offer from CUHK in this application season.

In addition, Andy also received offers from six other world-renowned universities (University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, City University of Hong Kong, University of Queensland, University of Melbourne, University of Sydney). 

Business: A dream from childhood to adulthood

For him, his interest in business first came from the influence of his family environment.

Andy's childhood photos Andy

Because his father was engaged in a related profession, he was nurtured by a strong business atmosphere since he was a child, and this business knowledge, which might be obscure to others, planted a seed of aspiration in his heart.

In 10th grade, with the support of his parents and teachers, he further defined his career dream of studying business and following his father's example by pursuing a future career in business analysis.

TOK Exhibition

In order to systematically learn about professional business and prepare for university studies in advance, he took Business Management HL after entering the DP.

In the class, he had to learn concepts such as finance, accounting, logistics, etc., but also to combine theoretical knowledge with case studies accordingly. He had to imagine how different companies would deal with problems and also learn how to predict the future direction of a company. 

Therefore, Business Management is one of the most difficult, stressful and demanding courses in IB.

At the very beginning, Andy encountered some difficulties. He is  introverted and not good at expressing himself, and this course requires students to actively express their ideas, which had brought him some pressure and thought burden.

Fortunately,  the introvert met a group of outgoing teachers. The teachers love to interact with the students, and they are able to detect their negative emotions and help them on a one-to-one basis.

Ms. Coco, Andy， Business Management teacher Mr.Ryan；

The comfortable classroom environment and the cordial relationship between teachers and students helped him to gradually integrate into the classroom, and the teachers and students would chat and joke with each other in their free time.

In terms of university applications, his teachers had suggested Andy to choose schools in the United States, but Andy had his own considerations, taking into account the international situation, the epidemic, the time difference and other factors, he finally only chose universites in Hong Kong and Australia. 

And after he made up his mind, everyone spared no effort to support him. His major teacher helped him write recommendation letters, his college guidance counselor helped him check the application requirements of each college, and his family gave him a lot of advice in choosing his major.

Andy with college counselor

In the end, his hard work paid off. One day after Christmas, he finally received a belated gift from "Santa Claus" - an offer from his dream school, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Time Management: The Transformation of an "Game addicted Teenager"

“

"My advice is to make sure you plan your time early." Andy said meaningfully.

”

Andy admits that the biggest difficulty he encountered in his high school career was not writing papers, but "not being able to manage my time", which he even describes as "one of the bigger hurdles in my life", because he would often put things off until the last minute, and it was not a good feeling to make effort at the last moment.

And, Andy especially like to play games. His eyes seem to glow when he talks about keywords such as Rainbow Six and CSGO.

Many people around him would jokingly call him " Game addicted Teenager ", even the most frequent word in his classmates' messages is "professional player".

In PYP and MYP, Andy was still able to balance his schoolwork and entertainment, but his first year in DP was also the time when he was getting addicted to games. 

The demands of his studies became high, and the proliferation of papers and exams at different stages made him feel overwhelmed for a while.

So, he wants to use his experience to tell his schoolmates, "DP is only two years in total, try to do as much as you can in 11th grade, if you try to put all your homework or assignments into the second year, your second year will be very medium burden and very stressful."

As the saying goes, pressure makes people self-disciplined. Under this pressure, Andy gradually found his own unique way to adapt - using the experience of playing games to do time management.

He enjoys the sense of accomplishment of reaching the highest level in the game, and in reality he plans things out in order and in stages.

Andy's time planning in March

"An Essay that takes two months, then I'll divide up what to do in the first few weeks ahead of time, set each time point accordingly to complete, and cross it off when I'm done, which can be very fulfilling."

Later on, time management has become his habit, and the ample time and reasonable arrangement have helped him to come out from his addiction to games.

Today, he has already completed the transformation from pursuing the "completion" to pursuing "perfection".

 Of course, in the humble Andy's opinion, he is still gradually moving through this hurdle, "maybe just in the middle." He laughs.

Growing up: Nine unforgettable years at CISK

Due to his parents' job transfer, Andy and his brother Robin (CISK class of 2019, now studying at the University of Melbourne) moved from Malaysia to China with their parents and officially enrolled at CISK in 2013. For Andy, these nine years of study at CISK have been "very memorable".

Andy with his family

When he came to CISK, he first came into contact with students from different regions such as Spain, France and the United States. At first he was shocked by his classmates' native curly and blonde hair.

But later on,  some of them naturally became his good friends. Being able to meet teachers and students from all across the world, and to exchange our ideas and traditions with those who may be coming from a completely different or unknown background became his best memory at CISK.

At school, Andy took an active part in school activities. He played the leading role in the play "A Doll's House", showing his confidence through fluent English. He was the host in Chinese New Year celebration; In the Drama Festival, he acted as Boss Yuan in "Love peach Blossom Land" and showed the characteristics of the role incisively and vividly.

And in his free time, he likes to play sports, especially good at badminton, soccer, he also participated in the school's soccer CCA, often playing friendly matches with the soccer teams of other schools.

In her Grade 12 graduation speech, DP Coordinator Kristie said, "Andy taught me nerve and chivalry. Despite the anxiety that often popped up and took over your thoughts, you were able to push through and overcome one of the biggest challenges a person can face. Your ever-present sense of honor and manners has shone through the years I have known you. You always greet those around you with a warm smile and are one of the most personable young men I know. "

Chinese teacher Ms. Coco said, " Andy is one of the most graceful students I have taught. He treats people sincerely, politely, modestly, and warmly. In the process of learning, he always maintains a positive learning attitude and shows curiosity about different subjects and learning topics. He is a learner with International mindness. "

In Andy's view, he is a somewhat timid person, but over the years at CISK, he grew from a shy introvert to a poised young man.

Looking back on his nine years at CISK, Andy has learned to make choices, to manage his time, to complete papers that are both thoughtful and academic, to meet challenges, to take responsibility, to cooperate with others, and to be mature and open-minded.

We wish Andy the best of luck in his future educational journey.