Bulletin No. 2, 2013

14 Chinese University Bulletin No. 2, 2013 You went to the US by boat in 1968. What was that like? I went by the President Cleveland. The trip was supposed to take two weeks, with stops in Yokohama, Hawaii and San Francisco. But typhoons prolonged it into a month-long journey. I shared the HK$1,700, least expensive cabin, with seven other students. We were stuck in that tiny space as we waited for the typhoons to pass; we were not allowed to go on deck. Everybody got seasick. At meal-times knives and forks would fly all over the place. I was very glad to finally set foot on terra firma again. From San Francisco, I took the Greyhound to LA where someone from UCLA gave me a ride to Westwood. Why did you choose to go to UCLA? I was a student of United College located on Bonham Road. One day I saw a notice saying we could apply to study at the University of Hawaii and the UC system. I wanted to further my studies, so I sat for the SAT. A visiting professor from UCLA who was teaching at Chung Chi at the time came and convinced me to choose UCLA because it had one of the best graduate schools in business. I did and was accepted. They gave me a tuition waiver of US$1,000 per quarter and another US$1,000 in financial assistance. If I had gone to any other university in Hong Kong, I wouldn’t have had this chance. Testimonials Here are a few of the beneficiaries of the University’s academic linkages. Mr. Danny T.T. Chan Mr. Danny T.T. Chan, former banker, studied for a Master of Science in Business Administration at UCLA in 1968–69. Tell us about your experience at UCLA. I went to the US with US$1,200 on me. Half of that went quickly into the purchase of a green Volkswagen belonging to a Mexican student. My life in the first two quarters consisted of classes and brief stints at Madame Wu, a Chinese restaurant, and later at Broadway. I wanted to learn how to fly airplanes and go skiing—I managed to do both. In the third quarter I found a full-time job as an investment research analyst at the headquarters of Security Pacific Bank. Three afternoons a week my boss would release me with full pay to attend classes. I graduated from the three-year Master of Science in Business Administration programme in a year’s time. Thanks to CUHK’s academic system, I had already taken some of the classes in Hong Kong, so I was granted a one-year exemption. CUHK had prepared me very well for graduate studies at UCLA. Chinese University students had another edge—we’re good at both English and Chinese. There were only 12 students majoring in International Business at UCLA. I was the only one from Hong Kong. After graduation, I took care of market research for an electronics company. The job took me all over the world—by plane this time—and it was while in New York that I got a job offer from AIG that took me back to Hong Kong. My experience at UCLA opened many doors.