We are proud to present a brand-new initiative by the Marketing Club, MBA Full-time Class of 2022, called . This project is designed to introduce the ‘life and story’ of members’ of the class. We are thrilled to share one of the first with you here.

Please visit their website at www.ourprojectm.com to find more about the initiative and further stories. Their posts can be also found on their LinkedIn page via https://www.linkedin.com/company/marketing-club-hku-mba-22/

It was a chilly Saturday so we decided to go to a lovely intimate café to save us from an afternoon of heavy weather and heavy work. I went upstairs for a seat and found the ever-punctual Tina had already arrived as usual. We occupied a cozy corner, shared decent food and drinks, and immersed ourselves in a frank and open conversation against a background of bright music. I quizzed Tina on her hobbies, motivations, memories, and how she is finding the MBA, and I thank her for the time to spent together in friendship and for her sparkling insights.

(Reading on, Q refers to questions from HKU MBA marketing club and T stands for Tina)

Q: How would you describe yourself?

T: Confident and thoughtful. I enjoy taking care of other people and I try to think more of others than for myself. As for my approach to work and learning, I challenge myself to step out of my comfort zone. For instance, I love to establish websites and in my college time the only resources available for use were commercial templates, so instead, I strove to learn for myself by taking relevant courses and began building websites on my own.

Q: How would you like others to describe you?

T: I would want others to describe me as AWESOME. I don’t measure success by how much money I make in the future, instead, I want people to see me as an awesome person, from the important things in life down to the more trivial things.

Q: Please share with us a memorable story from work.

T: One thing that I always remember is about the staff parking lot when I started work in Taiwan after college. The parking spaces were limited and three hotels had to share only 14 staff parking spaces, furthermore, these spots were assigned to the management as a priority. Finding this allocation unfair I broached the subject only to be challenged by one of the directors, who said “The parking spots are for someone like ME, not YOU. That’s how things work in Taiwan”.  I was so shocked and angry by his impudence that I decided to challenge this issue arguing under the banner of our employees’ rights. After a long fight, my challenge was successful resulting in the HR department arranging for 100 parking spaces for employees where the parking fare would be deducted through the payroll. It was a controversial stance and I was worried about arguing with someone in a much higher position than me, but the experience was a very valuable one as I learned that it is right to challenge rules or customs that are unfair and the lesson I learned is to not be afraid and always think outside of the box for solutions when none immediately present themselves.

Q: What, for you, are the ideal attributes of a colleague?

T: Efficiency, responsibility, and being a team player. I like it when things are planned with an agenda so that workflow can be smooth and save everyone’s time.

Q: Please share with us your experience at HKU MBA.

T: I am loving being part of the full-time MBA program. At the very beginning when I learned about my classmates’ backgrounds I thought everyone is so outstanding that I might have little to contribute. But as the program went on, I found people are not focused on competition but instead focused on being classmates and friends. We have shared much time together working in groups, which has created opportunities to work with many different people from a variety of backgrounds. I have immensely enjoyed the challenge and the diversity.

Q: What do you like to do in your free time?

T: Watching Netflix, enjoying my own company, and having casual meals with my sister.

Q: Please describe who you want to be in the future?

T: I want to be someone who takes a positive approach whenever I can. I tend to sometimes look at things from the downside so I am always reminding myself to switch perspectives and change my mindset. It’s a work in progress, ha!

Q: Imagine your future.

• Imagine we are now at July 2032,

– Where are you?

– What are you doing?

– Who are you with?

– What are you doing after?

T: I’m in a big lake house with my loved one. The lake house is close to the sea with gentle sea breeze reachable at a window distance. Within the house there’s a library full of books, and I can sit or lie down anywhere I want with a cozy sofa and blanket. It’s so comfortable.

The conversation was rushed to the end as the café is closing by 8pm. It’s such a pleasant time that we enjoyed sharing with each other, to understand a little bit more, and to expect more of our nearest future with friends alongside. It’s sure worth to be remembered and treasured long in our memory.