Business acumen and social consciousness complement each other. Gui Lingqing firmly believes that, which is why she is ready to devote much of her spare time to community services despite a heavy workload.
“I have visited senior citizens at elderly centres to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with them,” she says. “And recently, I have been distributing masks and sanitiser to elderly people who live on their own.”
The judges for the residence scholarship naturally took account of academic performance, but they also considered contributions to the university and society at large. That certainly counted in favour of Gui who, among other activities, has worked as a student trainee helper for the Student Affairs Office at OUHK.
“The scholarship has helped to reduce my financial burden,” she says. “It has also enabled me to join more co-curricular activities, get immersed in Hong Kong life, and know the city better. My aim is to integrate myself into society through community services because I want to have a career in Hong Kong after graduation.”
Gui notes that the past year has been challenging, but is grateful that OUHK has been so proactive in assisting students. For instance, she attended workshops organised by the university to equip fresh graduates with advanced job-hunting skills.
“The final-year project tested our adaptability and collaboration as some team members were in mainland China,” she says. “It took mutual understanding, teamwork and concerted effort to share information, work on our parts separately and keep to the deadline. I am glad to say that we did it.”
