City University of Hong Kong (CityU) is holding its 2007 Congregation from 6 November to 15 November. The successful stories of two graduates, Sandy Kwan Yee Mei and Louise Zhang Lu, testify the University's professional and whole-person education help them embark on their professional careers.

Sandy graduated with First Class Honours in BSocSc (Hons) Policy Studies and Administration. She is now working as a management trainee at the Hong Kong Airport Authority (HKAA). "I attended the summer internship scheme organised by HKAA in my second year. During the internship, I was able to apply what I learned in class and experience the real work environment", she said.

Sandy emphasised that the internship experiences with HKAA increased her understanding of the operations of the international airport. From then on, she made it a career goal to join HKAA. Finally, by virtue of her excellent performance during her internship with HKAA and her outstanding academic results, Sandy fulfilled her wish. She was selected from more than 2,000 applicants as one of the four management trainees hired by HKAA.

"Thanks to the guidance and opportunities offered by CityU, I grew up as a university graduate with professional knowledge, specialty skills and global vision from a secondary school student with no real career aspirations," said Sandy who was also a graduate of Community College of City University's Associate of Arts in Translation and Interpretation programme.

Aside from attending the internship scheme with HKAA, she also had the opportunity to attend international forums and exchange programmes in France, Australia and mainland China. She particularly valued the semester studying at The University of Warwick, UK, as an exchange student. Through CityU's student exchange programmes, her dream of studying abroad came to fruition and she was exposed to life and cultures very different from Hong Kong. "The University offered us a lot of opportunities. You can develop your own talent, as long as you learn to grasp it," she said.

Just like Sandy, Louise, who graduated with First Class Honours in BBA (Hons) Finance, knew she had to seize the opportunity in developing her full potential. She recalled how she was in the dark without any career goals three years ago, when she came to Hong Kong from Shanghai. Nurtured by CityU's comprehensive programmes, she graduated with more confidence. Owing to her deep interest

in the finance sector and her outstanding academic performance, Louise was selected from more than 1,000 applicants to become one of the three local trainees hired by a renowned international investment bank.

Louise said the whole-person education at CityU allowed her to mature over the course of just three years. The exchange schemes broadened her vision and greatly enriched her educational and personal experience. She had also been a residence tutor and a Student Ambassador while studying at CityU. "As a residence tutor, I had the chance to deal with all age groups from different departments and to improve my communication skills. By organising the inter-hall activities, I obtained valuable experience in cooperating with others. As for being a Student Ambassador, I got to receive guests from different sectors and introduce them to CityU. This helped to improve my communication skills and assert my self-confidence," said Louise.

The two outstanding graduates said they had stepped onto the road to success with gratitude and would value every opportunity and work hard to contribute positively to CityU and society.