The Class of 2023 have graduated and are about to start their new journey. This cohort of international students came to the campus in the fall of 2019, then got stranded overseas due to Covid during the winter vacation at the beginning of 2020. They didn't get to return to campus until they were in their 4th year. Their university experiences were full of unforgettable memories and valuable life lessons.

We interviewed several of them to share their unique experiences.

STUDENT 01

CELINE NADYA GUNAWAN

Indonesian, SME, Muse College

Hobbies: hiking and reading

Favourite Place on Campus: The bridge between the 3rd floor of the Student Centre to TD

“I like to go there around 5 pm after studying. You can see the sunset from there and it's very beautiful.”

Celine was one of the 13 graduating seniors who were awarded the Presidential Awards for Outstanding Students at the graduation ceremony on May 20th. She has received a job offer and is going to start her career at Citibank in Jakarta, Indonesia, in July.

STUDENT 02

CLARA VALENCIA

Indonesian, MED, Shaw College

Hobbies: drawing and online gaming

Favourite Place on (or near) Campus: The pagoda on the hill of Dayun Park and the Fairy Lake

"From the pagoda, you can see the entire lower campus. The Fairy Lake is a nice place to walk around and enjoy evenings or mornings."

Clara used to be the vice president of CUHK-Shenzhen International Students Association. She will go to Shanghai to study Mandarin for a semester after graduation. Then, she plans to do some internships in the medical industry and continue her study for a master’s degree.

STUDENT 03

ADITYA

Indonesian, MED, Muse College

Hobbies: sampling different kinds of teas and bread

Favourite Place on Campus: The out space on the 5th floor of the Student Centre

"I used to spend my time there during class breaks. It's relatively quiet, but I can still hear the busyness of the campus. I am an introvert, and I think that's a good place for me to relax and unwind from all the busyness."

As an undergraduate student, Aditya joined a research group where he was the only international student. He is a big fan of scientific research and he has received an offer for graduate studies at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland.

Q & A

Q1. Why did you choose CUHK-Shenzhen?

Celine: My principal at high school promoted CUHK-Shenzhen, and my mom thinks those who have Mandarin skills are likely to have more opportunities in the job market.?

Clara: I was very interested in studying abroad. Choosing China was because of the familiarity, like Asian culture. It's a good starting point for those who want to study abroad but are reluctant due to culture shocks. In addition, the medium of teaching here is English, and I'm very comfortable learning in English.

Aditya: I chose CUHK-Shenzhen because it is in China and I thought it might have some beneficial opportunities for me. I’m interested in biomedical engineering and sciences, and I think China is developing its health care rapidly. Besides, CUHK-Shenzhen uses English as the main medium of instruction. I was not confident enough with my Chinese and it was hard for me to understand the courses if they were explained in Chinese.

Q2. What have you learned most from your university life?

Celine: In terms of knowledge, I've gained a lot in the past few years, and it has opened my mind on what's out there. Apart from knowledge, the things I’ve learned most are the values here, such as integrity. Integrity is a big deal in CUHK-Shenzhen, and when I did my internship, it was most emphasised by the company. Then the value of not giving up even though it's difficult. And be humble, because no matter how smart you are, there is always someone smarter than you.?

Clara: The thing that I’ve learned most is how to manage yourself, not just time, but also skills and friendships. And I also learned in CUHK-Shenzhen that you have to be very resilient because the academic programme is very comprehensive and challenging. So I learned how to overcome problems both in my academic and social life, and to create a balance between those two.?

Aditya: For me, it’s to find the balance between what you are comfortable doing and what you want to do, because we have limited time during the university and we have a lot of workloads. So I have to prioritise things that I want to do and will do, and things that I want to do but have to leave out.?

Q3. What are your happiest / most unforgettable memories in your university life?

Celine: There are a lot.? For example, in the first year, I organised the Muse Indonesian Night, which was very fun. We introduced how to make batik to students from different countries. Another is about a club, SME Toast Masters. It's a public speaking club, and I met a lot of friends there.

Clara: The happiest moment was when I finished my quarantine and returned to the university campus, the familiar place that I stayed 3 years ago and have been thinking about coming back to from time to time. Even though I knew coming back to the university didn’t mean that I would have fun, I was still very happy when I arrived here and met all the other students that I had been studying with online for 2.5 years.

Aditya: Mine is when I first attended the meeting in our research group. For so long, I had only heard about what research was and what PhD students were doing. But that was the first time that I had seen it, like how they had discussions and how they presented their findings. At that moment, I knew I had fulfilled one of the goals that I set.

Q4. Is there anyone that you want to say thanks to?

Celine: Laila Tungcab from SME CDC. During the pandemic, everyone was kind of lost and stuck on their own. We were so confused and our university life seemed only about having online courses. Then Laila reached out and said to us: “Hey, how are you guys doing?” and she tried to have a chat.? I think Laila kind of made the university a community again for us during the pandemic, and she supported us a lot in our careers.?

Clara: My academic adviser, Dr. YANG Zhou. During the pandemic when we did online courses, he had a Zoom call with me every semester to check up on my progress. I feel very grateful because even though I was online, he understood that I was a CUHK-Shenzhen student and I was still pursuing an education at this university.?

Aditya: Professor CHEN Jihang from our research group. I want to thank him for accepting me despite my lack of experience in research. There were 8 students in the group and I was the only international student. I think it was much easier to speak with everybody in Chinese, but with me in the group, all members changed the language to English to accommodate me. And I'm also grateful for that.?

Q5. Do you have any tips for junior international students?

Celine:?

First, be consistent. Some students stop studying in their 4th year, and it makes them lose many opportunities because they stop learning and improving. My opinion is to try to be consistent with study, work, and life. Don't start hard and then become lazy. Just be consistent and pace yourself.?

Second, don't wait for opportunities to come to you. In high schools, teachers would ask if we want to join a competition, but it’s not the case in universities. So if you want to participate in a competition, you need to take the opportunity when it presents itself. For example, if you see a relevant email and you are interested, take the opportunity and don’t waste it.

Third, time management. I always put what I need to do on my calendar. Then, instead of going to specifics such as I need to study from this hour to that hour, I try to do it as fast as I can. That is better because I can finish all my homework first, and I also have time to have fun.?

Aditya:

First, try to keep a healthy life, such as a good sleeping schedule, before focusing too much on other stuff, because it's the fundamental thing that you can build on.?

Second, don't let others tell you who to be. Just be what you want to be and focus on your goal. Make a goal, stick to it and work on it as much as you can. I think that is the key to being successful. On the contrary, if you follow too much of what others want you to be, you will lose sight of who you are, which is not good, especially since you are going to be on your own in adulthood.

Third, try to do your assignments in advance. Don't do them when it is too close to the deadlines. Because if you do them in advance, it will save you so much stress, and you can do many other things when you are not stressed. You can also get a good GPA if you stick to that.?

Fourth, don't focus too much on academics. Try things out and explore whatever you want. This is your university life. It is probably the only stage in your life that you can try things out without worrying too much about consequences.

Clara:

The first thing coming to my mind is to try and make a lot of friends, not just those from your same country. You're in China and far from home. It's a good opportunity to meet with people from different cultures. Be friendly and be kind to everyone.

Second, join student organisations or clubs, and participate in activities. That's where you'll find many friends. And be proactive. Practice being proactive to be the first one to act. You cannot be passive.

Third, work hard and play hard. If you work too much, you will be stressed out, but if you play too hard, your academics will fail. I think that's part of being an adult, to manage time between what is for fun and for work. You need both.

Writer: Huan Zhu (OAL)

Page Designer: Tammy Chung Yi Ting, HSS, Muse College; David Li, SSE, Ling College

Photo Credits: Celine, Clara, Aditya