Bulletin No. 1, 2019

The musical life of Louise Kwong began in the same way as many other children’s did. She started her piano lessons at six, and joined the Hong Kong Children’s Chorus at nine. She practised singing of her own accord, and she was always picked by the teachers to sing solo. In Form 4, she won the solo contest in an inter-school music festival. Seeing her talent, her family arranged for her to take vocal lessons from the famous vocalist Chan Siu-kwan . When she was of university age, she hovered between majoring in business and music and was admitted by the Department of Music. She has not looked back since. ‘The Department’s curriculum was quite theory-laden,’ said Louise, ‘Only three or four out of a cohort of 30 majored in singing. I am the only one who finally made a career out of singing.’After graduation, she went for further studies in the UK and the Netherlands, after which she stayed in Europe while waiting for performing opportunities. The uphill battle for This April, Arnold Chan was named in ‘Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia’, a prestigious list for precocious social entrepreneurs and change-makers. A graduate from CUHK’s signature Global Business Studies programme, his laurels did not come from business but from education. ‘I realized that business is not just about making money, and that business majors do not necessarily have to pursue a career in finance. To study business is to become a strategic thinker who can tackle social problems effectively,’ said Arnold. He founded Teach for Hong Kong (Teach4HK), a nonprofit, in 2015 after a stint with Teach for China. He has been recruiting university graduates to teach at underprivileged schools, making a positive impact for over 10,000 students. In 2016, Arnold received a Hong Kong Youth Service Award from the Federation of Youth Groups, a testament to his contributions to a worthy social cause. His goal is to reduce the education gap—the disparity in education quality between upper- and lower-class students—by providing not only teachers but stand-in life coaches and mentors. Teach4HK’s volunteers run extracurricular activities outside the classroom. While he previously held a lucrative job with Goldman Sachs, Arnold desired to improve the education system through fundraising to found his non-profit. Making an impact took precedence over a top-dollar package. ‘Many people pay lip service to their support of NGOs but jeer at their young friends and families who devote themselves to a non-profit venture. Social innovation depends a lot on fresh minds. The public should show more support and encouragement to those young activists,’ said Arnold. ‘Each of us should define our own path to success rather than yielding to the expectations of others. I’m lucky to have benefited from the existing system. Isn’t that enough reason to do something nice for it in return?’ 2010 BBA in the Global Business Programme United College Arnold Chan b. 1989 20 Chinese University Bulletin No.1, 2019