CHEUNG Yiu Him Hugo, our graduate of 2015, has successfully stood out from an applicant pool of 658 in the 1st “Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence Scheme” to be awarded the scholarship with an honorable title “HK Scholar”. Only 78 applicants were granted this recognition of accomplishments. Starting this September, Hugo will begin his study of Neuroscience in University of Glasgow in Scotland, the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world.
Studying overseas has been a dream for Hugo ever since he was young. Yet it has always been just a dream for he was born in a humble family. Despite the circumstances, Hugo worked hard to gear himself up. In junior secondary, he actively participated in all kinds of activities: joining the swimming team, learning the violin, taking part in reading competitions and reward programs, robotics team, etc… He was involved in both active and quiet activities; academic and non-academic, in-school and outside-of-school. He did not miss any chances to enrich himself and joined events hosted by various organizations. With such broad exposure, Hugo’s language skills have improved and his horizons extended. He has also made a lot of friends from different places. His learning life has become much fulfilling.
As senior secondary approached, the intense pressure from studying came along. There are rising concerns about the further education choices to consider. The journey to study in the UK was done in small steps. Before and after the S5 summer holiday in 2014, Hugo took part in numerous further study seminars through the school’s arrangement and got hold of the latest local and overseas study information. Meanwhile, he had also taken and passed the International English Language Test System (IELTS) in preparation for applying for overseas institutes. During October to November in the same year, he learned about the “Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence Scheme” through teachers and newspapers. Knowing this is an invaluable chance to make his dream come true, he did not hesitate to grasp this opportunity. He quickly applied for the scholarship scheme, and subsequently decided to apply for 5 universities in the UK in December.
The year 2015 was when Hugo took the HKDSE public exam. After the exam, Hugo was determined to further equip himself instead of slacking off in learning. In May, he returned to school almost every single day to join the English Oral Workshop. He saw the significance of the workshop in greatly improving his language ability. As a result of focused and intense training, his English speaking has become more accurate and fluent. He easily maneuvered through interviews in the local universities. In August came two pieces of good news: the University of Glasgow has accepted his undergraduate application, and the result for the “Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence Scheme” was released and he was granted a scholarship of around HKD$250,000 each year in support of his tuition fees.
In the coming four years, Hugo will study Neuroscience, a subject he is interested in, in University of Glasgow. His study area includes researching brain nerve system in humans and animals. In 2014 a viral fundraising video event called the “Ice Bucket Challenge” had hit the Internet. Public awareness of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) has been raised and the society has paid more attention to this progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord, and its patients. Tackling ALS and discovering cures and treatments for it is one of the key research areas of Neuroscience and because of such mission, Hugo thinks Neuroscience is a very meaningful subject and it is related to his beloved Biology
Best wishes to Hugo as he embarks on his path of Neuroscience in Glasglow with great anticipation.
