Four years ago, when Chen Junzhe graduated from high school, he was perceived as someone shy. Before entering UIC, one of his teachers said to him, "You should express yourself confidently."
Now, Chen Junzhe has completed his four years of studies at UIC. In response to his teacher's encouragement, he has changed into a positive and hard-working person. This September, he is going to continue pursuing his dreams at the University of Hong Kong.
Chen Junzhe is graduating from the e-Business Management and Information Systems Programme. He has been admitted to the University of Hong Kong
Stepping out of the "comfort zone"
"Liberal arts college", "international higher education", "diversified curriculum"......Initially, Junzhe was attracted to UIC by its unique education model and UIC's possibilities. Junzhe "forced" himself to step out of his comfort zone to get the most of his college education.
UIC's liberal arts education brought Junzhe a completely different experience in his growth. For example, Junzhe was selected as a group leader in one of the courses; he was not competent in that role. As a result, the group barely completed their assignment, and Junzhe realised the importance of good communication and empathy.
During his internship, Junzhe assisted in the conversion of health codes between Zhuhai and Macao at Gongbei Port
During the summer vacation of his junior year, Junzhe assisted in converting health codes between Zhuhai and Macao at Gongbei Port. Older adults who do not have a mobile phone or not familiar with it and foreigners who cannot read Chinese would often encounter difficulties in transcoding. Junzhe reported the situation to the relevant person in charge. As a result, the transcoding process has now been optimised. Junzhe was surprised how putting forward an idea could solve practical problems and even bring convenience to others. He felt he should be more confident when expressing his opinions.
Sailing from the warm harbour
Junzhe had been working towards advancing himself while he was at UIC. Thanks to the support of his teachers and seniors, he had never felt helpless.
Junzhe still remembered that in the first week of coming to UIC, under the leadership of the peer mentors (senior students) of the Mentor Caring Programme (MCP). The mentors showed him around the campus for the first time, and he attended a dinner with his new classmates. After that, Junzhe also made up his mind to become a peer mentor and express himself confidently like his seniors.
Junzhe (first from right) leads the freshmen on a trip after becoming a peer mentor in his sophomore year
Junzhe is very grateful for the help he received from teachers. In the freshman year, Junzhe and his classmates needed to make a business plan, and they consulted the Associate Professor of the Division of Business and Management, Dr Uchenna Eze. Dr Eze was very patient and guided them through analysing the problems one by one. After the discussion, Dr Eze said to them: "My office door is always open for you. Feel free to ask me all kinds of questions."
In Junzhe's opinion, a healthy and supportive teacher-student relationship is ubiquitous at UIC.
Junzhe and the teachers
Junzhe, who is about to graduate from UIC, is no longer as nervous as he did when he first entered university. When he needs to prepare an impromptu speech in a short time, Junzhe has no problem doing it now. Apart from participating in the MCP programme, in 2019, he went to Thailand for a three-month volunteer teaching programme.
Junzhe (back row) once went to Thailand to volunteer for teaching
Life at UIC has helped Junzhe to grow. He suggested that students plan their university life as soon as possible, start to think about future development direction and work hard for it. Regarding the choice of approach, Junzhe believes that UIC is a college that promotes diversified experience. Students can find their interest in trying, and they may find more "hidden attributes" in themselves.
From MPRO
Reporter: Covee Wang
Editors: Samuel Burgess, Deen He
