Legend has it that ‘Know Thyself’ was inscribed in the front of the Temple of Apollo. As one of the most famous aphorisms from ancient Greece, the phrase speaks the truth — only when we know ourselves can we become fully aware of our life goals. A university plays an important role in bringing out the character of students in their journey of self-discovery. In this issue of MyUM, we have interviewed three members of the University of Macau (UM) to find out what they have learned about themselves through higher education and how UM helped them find their goals in life.
Growing Up through Challenges
Tam Ho Ut is a fourth-year student in the Department of Government and Public Administration and Cheng Yu Tung College. She believes that studying at UM has not only made her grow but also given her a clearer sense of who she is. ‘In my first year of studies, my feelings used to be easily influenced by the outside world. I was often overly excited with small successes and discouraged by small failures,’ says Tam. After several years of development, she is more mature now and has become an outstanding student leader in her college. The unpredictable development of the epidemic and her eventful internships have also boosted her inner strength. ‘I am more confident now and can openly celebrate my successes. Every failure is a valuable effort and every failure is a learning opportunity,’ she says.
According to Tam, her experiences of serving as a student leader in her college and her immersion in the courses of her major have combined to create a journey of self-discovery. As a student assistant in her college, she has become more aware of her strengths and weaknesses thanks to her interactions with students of different years and disciplines. The experiences also benefit her by allowing her to observe the merits of others. In addition, as she has acquired more professional knowledge, her interest in administrative law has grown: ‘I plan to pursue postgraduate studies in administrative law.’ She is also learning Portuguese after class to improve her career competitiveness. ‘After four years at UM, I have a better understanding of my personality and strengths and I have become clear on what I want to do in the future,’ she says.
Self-Discovery through Intercultural Exchange
Camila Mungoi comes from Mozambique and is currently a third-year student in the Department of Accounting and Information Management. As key member of Cheong Kun Lun College’s Buddy Programme, she regularly organises exchange activities to bring together students from different countries and regions. Recently she demonstrated the cooking process of Nigerian Jollof rice to her peers in an effort to introduce them to different ways of thinking in various cultures.
Mungoi believes that when comparing ourselves to others, we can gain a deeper understanding of ourselves. For this reason, she enjoys interacting with students from different disciplines and cultural backgrounds in her college. In addition to serving in her college, Mungoi is a core member of the International Students’ Association under UM’s Students’ Union, where she frequently interacts with students from different countries and region, such as Portugal, Malaysia, and Indonesia. ‘I take advantage of opportunities available at UM to learn about different cultures and new things. I also joined a martial arts class at UM last summer. These were unforgettable intercultural learning experiences that helped me understand Chinese culture better,’ she says.
To explore the impact of cultural differences on interpersonal relationships, Mungoi has taken many psychology courses. She enjoys discussions with her professors and fellow students in class and also after class that deepen her knowledge and understanding of herself. ‘I appreciate the open and lively academic atmosphere at the university. My major mainly deals with numbers, but I have been able to broaden my horizons and explore myself in other ways. It reminds me that as a member of society I must always be aware of what is going on in the world. I hope that with what I have learned I can make the world a better place,’ says Mungoi.
New Direction after Days of Being Wild
‘I have never seen a student who was as cheeky as I was back then,’ says Chiu Man Yin, an associate professor in the Department of English, who not only has a good-tempered appearance, but is also soft-spoken, and therefore has long been a popular figure among students. Who would have thought he was once a rebellious teenager and a school dropout? However, he never gave up on the world of literature, even during his wildest days, and his life eventually led him back to it.
In 1983, Chiu enrolled in the foundation programme at the private University of East Asia, the predecessor of UM. After completing the programme, he did not go straight to college as his father, Prof Chiu Wing Kin, who was a professor at the university at the time, had hoped. In the same year, the Portuguese Macao government established the first local TV broadcasting company (the predecessor of Teledifusão de Macau, TDM). Chiu worked there for ten years as a sound producer at the radio station, and later the television station. ‘It was a crazy time and everyone had the ambition to do big things. At that time the TV station organised various kinds of music festivals so we worked day and night,’ says Prof Chiu. Even if he got off work at two or three o’ clock in the morning, he would meet up with his colleagues in the Nam Van district and would have car races with them all the way to Hac Sa before going home to sleep and continue working afterwards. The young Chiu had a vigorous spirit and surely did not waste any time in savouring his moments.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Chiu completed secondary school education in Hong Kong. Influenced by his parents, he fell in love with reading at a very young age. During the years when he worked tirelessly at TDM, he often borrowed books and magazines from the news department to learn new knowledge. After working for ten years, he felt that his life had come to a standstill and he could only work as a technician at the station with no career prospects. After careful consideration, he applied to the UM Department of English in 1992 to pursue further education.
Prof Chiu rarely talks to his students about his experiences during that earlier period of his life. ‘Today’s students are not like people from the past who did not have much access to education. Back then, very few people completed secondary school and even fewer went to university,’ says Prof Chiu. During college, he went to school in the daytime and worked at TDM at night to support himself. In the Department of English, he met Prof Donald Baker, a teacher who would have a strong influence throughout his life — Prof Baker inspired and guided Chiu to study English literature, which would become the goal of his life.
After graduation, Chiu served as a lecturer at the university and later continued his studies for a master’s degree and a PhD degree at the University of Hong Kong. Looking back on the past, Prof Chiu shares his words of wisdom: ‘At different stages of life, we can’t help but look for different things. Often we don’t know how to find a way out, but every time we take the initiative to seize an opportunity, we push ourselves along a path, which may be winding but will one day lead us somewhere we belong to.’
Source: My UM ISSUE 112
