Source: My UM
Greta, associate professor in the Faculty of Science and Technology, is a staunch cat lover. Her cat, Hansel, whom she adopted in the United States, has followed her first to Hong Kong, and now to Macao, Greta’s hometown. Greta has never thought about abandoning Hansel, because, “I love my cat and will never give him up, just like I love my research and my students and will never give up on them,” says Greta.
Hansel’s Immigration to Hong Kong
A hopeless animal lover since a child, Greta has had birds, rabbits, and tortoises as pets. She adopted Hansel in 2006 when she was studying for her PhD degree in the United States. By the time she nursed the weak, sick Hansel back to a chubby healthy cat, Greta found she and Hansel had grown deeply attached to each other. When she knew she would be teaching at the Chinese University of Hong Kong after graduation, she was torn apart by an internal tug of war: Should she bring Hansel along, when taking pets out of the US involves going through a very complicated process? “I told myself, Hansel has kept me company for so long, I can’t abandon him,” Greta says. So she set about completing the relevant formalities and buying the air ticket for Hansel. “An air ticket for Hansel was half the price of my own ticket, and he could only fly in the cargo compartment,” says Greta. “I had to bring him to the cargo compartment one day before I got on the plane.” Two months and a lot of hassle later, the story of Hansel’s immigration came to an end.
Or so she thought. The sequel to Hansel’s immigration story happened three years ago, when Greta joined UM’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “It turned out it was even more troublesome to bring pets from Hong Kong to Macao,” Greta says. “He wasn’t allowed on regular boats or in helicopters. Finally I asked a pet shop and was told that Hansel had to take a boat bound for the Inner Harbour Ferry Termina, and I would have to contact the owner of the boat and the IACM in advance so that IACM officials could collect the cat with me… it was so much hassle.” She breathed a sigh of relief, not knowing a still tougher test was awaiting her.
One day she came home to find Hansel missing, which almost drove her crazy. Later it turned out her domestic helper forgot to close the window, and Hansel fell off from the 16th floor and broke his legs, narrowly escaping death. Greta spent a lot of money treating Hansel’s injuries—enough money to buy ten cats. “Many people, including my family, don’t understand why I would do so much for a cat,” Greta says. “But to me, Hansel is not a toy. He is family. If anything happens to your family, you would do everything for them.”
Persistence Is Key to Success
Greta is the first medical imaging expert who was born and grew up in Macao. When she joined UM as assistant professor, she only had two students on her research team. Now, a mere three years later, she is an associate professor, with ten team members, and several papers published in international journals every year. Two of her team’s research projects have resulted in two US patents. Despite such impressive achievements at such a young age, Greta modestly shrugs off the compliment that she is a role model for today’s youth. “I haven’t arrived at a place where I deserve such a compliment,” she says. “I’m just doing my job. I hope my students can go beyond Asia and publish studies in front of international experts. Helping them grow like that makes me much happier.”
Help them grow she did, sometimes by holding the students’ hand through their moments of self-doubt. “When you feel like you can’t go any further alone, it helps to have someone hold your hands and travel part of the journey with you. So whenever my students told me, ‘I can’t do it’, I would work with them to find a way together, and in the end we always found a way to do it.” Greta’s career path seems enviably smooth sailing, but she has had her share of setbacks. She encourages young people to have faith in themselves. “There is nothing that can’t be done, you just have to have faith in yourself,” she says. “Also remember not to make a big thing out of setbacks. Learn to be patient and resilient when facing setbacks.”
