Sharing of Scholarship Recipients - LEE Lik

It is my honour to receive the HKBU Alumni Gratitude Scholarship, and I am grateful to the alumni donors for this incredible support. I am sincerely thankful to you for lending a helping hand to me when I encountered financial difficulties in my university life such as paying part of the tuition fee, hall fee and a gym membership. 

With the scholarship support, I am able to pay for part of the student residence hall fee for the coming academic year. I believe that staying in the student residence hall can enrich my university life as I can make more new friends and study partners to broaden my horizons and motivate my studies. I can concentrate more on my studying. Beyond academics, this scholarship support also assists me in paying for gym membership. I started my weight-loss program this year and I aim not only at losing weight in a year, but also for a consistent, healthier lifestyle. It is essential to stay healthy and become energetic in everyday school life, as one cannot do anything without physical health and mental well-being. Therefore, by going to the gym to do weight training and cardio exercises, I believe that I can stay strong and healthy, facilitating my academic progress.

Although I enjoy what I am studying, it is unavoidable to face many obstacles during my studies. As a SEN student, I face various difficulties such as having short attention-span and lacking concentration. Besides, I have to multitask most of the time as there are many assignments, projects, and presentations in a semester. Sometimes I really have no motivation and no idea how to start. Other than that, I am afraid of poor performance in assignments and presentations. However, I have been learning how to adjust my expectations, which lowers my stress too. I utilize the Pomodoro Technique, by breaking work into 25-minute, distraction-free intervals (called "pomodoros") separated by 5-minute breaks. After four pomodoro sessions, I take a longer 15–30-minute break. It really helps manage procrastination, anxiety, and focus. Furthermore, leveraging the advancement of AI to make notes and summarize learning content, I can instantly prepare my notes and study more efficiently. I also utilize AI to brainstorm the framework of my essays to provide me with a clear picture of what I am going to write.

On top of that, the impact of this scholarship support extends far beyond this academic year. It has fundamentally reshaped my future planning. I am now aiming for a master’s degree in urban planning, a goal that previously felt financially out of reach. This scholarship hasn't just funded my education; it has validated my potential and diligence. It has taught me that with the right resources and a bit of grit, the distance between "ambition" and "achievement" is much shorter than it looks. I am graduating not just with a degree, but with a clear career pathway that is dedicated to my further study and work in the field of Geography and Town Planning.