Eldpathy is not the only project to which
Sam devotes her efforts. At the beginning
of her final year at HKUST, like all final year
students, she pondered about her career.
Browsing the web for jobs, Sam came
across UN’s Economic and Social Council
webpage.
That was an indicative moment marking the
difference between those who act on their
ideas and those who just think about them.
Sam’s overseas exposure during her study
at HKUST had led her to become interested
in international relations and United Nation’s
work. She sent an application for internship
at the UN, not holding very high hopes.
Six months later, she was invited for an
interview. She was eventually chosen as
one of the 10 young representatives from
around the globe to work in the UN. She
spent 3 months at the UN Headquarters
in New York after finishing her final
examination at HKUST in 2014 and worked
on environmental policies. That was Sam’s
graduate summer.
By then, Sam had met many engineers from
different countries. “The engineers I met at
the UN and in other parts of the world are
very proud of being engineers. That is not the
case in Hong Kong. Local students do not
know much about what engineers do and
are not as interested in the field,” she says.
An idea came to her.
After working at the UN for 3 months,
Sam started her full-time job as graduate
environmental engineer at an international
environmental consultancy in September
2014, at the same time running and
expanding Eldpathy, Sam was already
working on her next project.
Here Sam again demonstrated her
remarkable execution capability. She
reached out to over 200 UST Engineering
alumni and students, gathering stories
about their learning, training and work as
engineers.
One year after graduation, Sam surprised us
at the 2015 Hong Kong Book Fair, promoting
her first book - “
Who Says Engineering is
Second Best?
” The book is a collection
of stories about 46 HKUST Engineering
alumni and current students from various
disciplines including mechanical, computer,
civil, electrical, and others.
Engineering surrounds us – it relates to every
single aspect of our daily lives. “Through
showcasing inspiring stories about real
engineers, I wish to increase awareness
and change perceptions among students,
parents and teachers about the various
engineering disciplines,” she says.
Always in pursuit of something new and
meaningful, Sam will likely surprise us with
another amazing idea the next time we
check in with her. And before long, we’re
certain, she would turn that idea into reality,
too.
“No matter what it takes to fulfil your dreams,
do it and keep doing it. Never give up!”
Education
Good Hope School, Hong Kong
INTI International College, Subang, Malaysia
BEng in Chemical and Environmental
Engineering, HKUST, 2014
Career
Summer intern at the United Nations, 2014
Graduate environmental Engineer at a
multinational engineering consultancy,
2014–present
Exchange and conferences
Stanford University,U.S. - Social Enterprise
and Leadership Exchange student program,
2012
Qinghua University - Chinese Culture
Exchange Camp, 2012
National University of Singapore, Asian Youth
Leadership Camp, 2013
G20 Youth Summit 2013 (St. Petersburg,
Russia) 2013
Xian Jiaotong University – Global Citizenship
Program, 2013
Awards
Champion and Best Speaker Award, Hong
Kong Social Enterprise Challenge 2012
HKUST Alumni Endowment Fund Community
Service Award, 2013
Top 10 Outstanding Youth and Social Service
Award of Hong Kong, 2014
Services
Co-founder, Eldpathy, a social enterprise
promoting empathy for elderly, 2013
Foundeing President, American Institute
of Chemical Engineers Student Chapter –
HKUST, 2013
Book
“Who Says Engineering is Second Best?”
2015
Keep great ideas great – ACT!
07
2015
