Success is about how high you bounce when you hit bottom. Having successfully counterattacked adversities twice, Huang Kaiyuan, a Food Science and Technology (FST) graduate, is currently studying at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in Analytical Chemistry.
Huang Kaiyuan
Striving with clear goals
In his freshman and sophomore years, Kaiyuan didn't have any goals. At that time, his GPA was only about 2.7. The turning point came when he participated in the summer programme of Hong Kong Baptist University and visited a couple of universities in Hong Kong. This experience kindled in him a goal of pursuing his master's degree there.
Driven by this clear goal, he changed his learning attitude and worked hard on every single quiz, which was mostly disregarded before.
Huang Kaiyuan shares his college life at the UIC admission session
The lab was also a place Kaiyuan spent a lot of his time at. Even when he failed to meet the expectations of the experiments, he was not defeated because of his passion and goals in mind. Since he was little, Huang Kaiyuan's father taught him that perseverance is crucial for success, and everything is possible because life is in his hands.
In response to his hard work, he received an admission letter from his dream school, the University of Hong Kong, as well as offers from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and The Chinese University of Hong Kong. In his last year, he was awarded a GPA of 3.7.
Acquire lifelong learning capacity under the liberal arts education
At the beginning of his master's studies at HKUST, his academic performance hit another rock bottom. Competing with his classmates who already had a profound knowledge of chemistry, Huang Kaiyuan, who had no academic background, felt suffocated. In a quiz, he ranked last in his major.
Aiming to improve himself, his father’s words echoed and he embarked on another counterattack. He spent a lot of time teaching himself after class, catching up on the basics of chemistry through online videos. Meanwhile, he reflected on and adjusted his learning method, and summarized and sorted out new knowledge timely with tools like mind mapping. At the end of the semester, Huang Kaiyuan's total GPA reached 3.45 and bounced again from the bottom.
Huang Kaiyuan is doing experiments at HKUST
This successful experience is inseparable from the liberal art education philosophy of UIC. UIC teachers have been guiding him in lifelong learning. He learned from his assistant professor Dr He Wenmeng in Food Science and Technology that learning has no boundaries and critical thinking is crucial. Since then, inspired by teachers at UIC, he began to enrich himself by learning computer science, statistics and other subjects.
With his determination and superior learning skills, Huang Kaiyuan not only achieved rapid progress in his academic performance but also gained personal growth and transformation. He deeply understood the meaning of "lifelong learning" advocated by UIC liberal arts education.
Huang Kaiyuan and his supervisor Dr Daphne Wu at the division poster exhibition
After finishing his master's degree, he hopes to pursue a doctorate degree to further improve himself in the field.
Enjoy a healthy and fulfilled life
Huang Kaiyuan enjoyed learning and applied professional knowledge to his life intelligently. At UIC, he used his expertise in food science to develop a diet plan. His knowledge of food science benefits not just himself but brings a healthier life to his family and friends.
In addition, as a basketball lover, Kaiyuan became a team player and learned how to deal with failure in basketball matches. As the captain of the UIC basketball team, he once led the team to success in the 2018 Guangdong University Basketball League.
Huang Kaiyuan on the basketball match
From MPRO
Reporter: Liang Qianning
Photos provided by the interviewee
Editors: Covee Wang, Deen He
