CityU Excellence Booklet 2022 – Interview

Q: Please introduce yourself briefly. What are some of your greatest achievements?

A: I am Jacky, who is named Leung Pui Kin in Chinese. I am a student with SEN and suffer
from a kind of muscular disease, so I need an electric wheelchair in my daily life. Now, I am
majoring in Information Engineering as my bachelor's degree and going to graduate this
summer term. Successfully admitted to CityU and completing the degree is one of my
significant achievements. Being an SEN student, we need to pay much more effort on study.
So, finishing a 4-year degree is not that easy.

Q: What do you wish people knew about you?

A: Despite being a person with special needs, I don't want to be in the spotlight and be
overly cared for by people around me. I always wish to act like a normal person like the
others. Therefore, I always emphasize the importance of inclusion in a community. Inclusion
is not only giving care to those in need but also treating everyone at the same level to live,
no matter their sex, background, race, and ability.

Q: What is a motto you live by or some piece of advice you've been given?

A: "We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated." This is the motto of my
life. Not to mention the disabled, everyone faces many obstacles in life. If we do not give it a
try and give up easily, we never achieve our goal.

Q: Who or what inspires you?

A: I am truly inspired by Stephen Hawking. He was a well-known theoretical physicist in a

wheelchair. After he was noticed that he was diagnosed with a slow-progressing form of
motor neurone disease. He did not give up his interest in research and being a cosmologist.
His spirit totally matches my above motto. He inspires me that no matter how big the
obstacles are, we should not be defeated and give up our original intention.

Q: How do you keep yourself motivated when there is a conflict or obstacles?

A: It may be disappointing that there is no any special thing or people keep motivating me
when I encounter an obstacle. While facing difficulties, I always just rationally think about
solutions. Even if I feel depressed, I can be positive again after a night of sleep. If you ask
me how I can keep being positive and rational, I would say "life must go on."

Q: What is the hardest decision you have had to make?

A: After my result of the DSE was released, I found I was not eligible to pursue my studies in
universities directly. Instead, I have been given two choices: either repeat form 6 in high
school and retake the DSE, or pursue my studies with an Associate degree and gain place
for a bachelor's degree after two years. These two choices have different pros and cons, and
it affects my future a lot. So that was a very hard decision to make. Finally, I chose the
second one.
Q: How would you describe excellence?

A: I think being excellent does not need an outstanding and powerful achievement. Let
attempting an exam at school be an example. If we already did revision and tried our best in
the exam, even if the final score is not very high, it is already excellent work.

Q: What is one characteristic that you believe every leader should possess?

A: A good leader should be reliable. Whether at school or in a company, we always need

group work. As team leaders, we should first listen to the point of view of teammates. Then,
make a correctly final decision. If a leader is reliable, the teammates will trust him/her to
make decisions.

Q: What's the most important risk you took and why?

A: The most significant risk I have taken was my college admission application. Since I was
pursuing study from an Associate degree, I was very busy and could not send out too many
application forms. So, I just applied to a few colleges. Fortunately, CityU was satisfied with
my academic result and gave me an offer.

Q: What do you think people can do to be more successful?

A: In my opinion, if we have a clear life goal or target, we can always gradually move toward
success. It can be long-term or short-term, big or small. Once we have a goal, we will think
of different ways to achieve it. Lastly, we will be successful someday.

Q: What do you think makes you special and unique?

A: I think my characteristic makes me special and unique. As mentioned, even being

disabled, I don't want too much spotlight and cares on me. Sometimes, I dislike news articles
praising my academic result and stating my background and difficulties. I know their intention
is good and want the readers to know what challenges we are facing. But perhaps, unlike
the others, I just don't like the feeling of being in the spotlight, especially highlighting my
special needs.