Volunteer

Soapbox Car for Walthew House

Builder & Driver

February 2023 - May 2023

Krazy Races by Sarah Belcher Events Ltd

Collaborated within a five-person volunteer team, committing over three months outside of work to design, construct, and drive a soapbox race car. We competed in the Krazy Races event held in Stockport, Manchester, with the primary goal of raising funds and awareness for Walthew House – a local charity supporting the Deaf and Blind, which receives community support from Nexperia UK Ltd. The car's decoration visually represented both Walthew House and Nexperia, and we integrated sign language messaging before our race runs to further promote the cause.

Reflection:

Building the soapbox car was a fantastic practical learning experience. Teammates with more hands-on skills were incredibly generous with their time, patiently teaching me how to use different tools and construction techniques. I truly appreciated this willingness to share knowledge openly, which felt characteristic of the supportive environment here in the UK. The race day itself was another highlight. I was genuinely surprised and impressed by the strong community spirit, seeing so many colleagues bring family and friends to cheer us on, alongside the large number of participating teams and spectators. As someone relatively new to the UK from Hong Kong, witnessing this level of local event engagement was eye-opening. Visiting Walthew House after the event to share our experience and be welcomed so warmly by people genuinely interested in our efforts was a truly rewarding conclusion to the project.

Cambodia Volunteer Service Trip

President

2018 - 2019

Pathfinder

Following my experience as an Officer in the Engineering team, I served as the volunteer President of Pathfinder. In this leadership role, I oversaw the entire student society, which comprised two distinct teams – Engineering and Hygiene Education – totalling approximately 21 members. My key responsibilities included:

• Leading the recruitment, onboarding, and mentorship of new committee members and team leaders

• Providing strategic oversight and guidance for funding applications submitted by both teams (within CUHK and HKU)

• Coordinating the planning and resource allocation for society-wide fundraising activities, such as charity sales

• Ensuring effective preparation, execution, and follow-up for the Cambodia service trips undertaken by both the Engineering and Hygiene Education teams

Reflection:

Volunteering as President provided invaluable lessons in leadership and team management. A key development was learning to accurately observe the individual strengths of different teammates and then trusting them to handle appropriate tasks – often better than I could myself. The role also required developing skills in conflict resolution: identifying the root cause or finding common ground, exploring different approaches to solutions, and balancing diverse opinions to ensure we still achieved our objectives. Furthermore, overseeing two teams rigorously honed my time management and project tracking abilities across multiple initiatives.

Cambodia Volunteer Service Trip

Officer

2017 - 2018

Pathfinder

As an Officer within a student society engineering project at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), I contributed to initiatives aimed at improving hygiene infrastructure in under-resourced schools in rural Cambodia. Key responsibilities across the project lifecycle included:

• Co-led efforts to raise funds within the CUHK and HKU communities through grant applications and charity sales events to finance the construction projects

• Participated in annual one-week trips (winter break) to Cambodia for site visits. Assessed hygiene conditions in various schools, liaised with local councils, and utilized existing project data to identify potential locations

• Assisted in managing essential pre-trip logistics, including coordinating with local university students for translation services, arranging transport and accommodation (often using established contacts), and ensuring team health precautions (vaccinations/medication)

• Analyzed site visit findings back in Hong Kong to select target schools with the most critical needs. Returned to target schools in Cambodia to discuss specific infrastructure requirements (e.g., water towers, handwashing basins, toilets) and liaised with principals regarding local contractor quotations

• Participated in annual two-week construction trips (summer break), assisting local contractors on-site and actively monitoring labor and material costs to ensure funds were utilized effectively and transparently

Reflection:

This project was an invaluable experience in collaboration. Working closely with teammates from diverse majors and universities highlighted how different perspectives and skills – like the communication and persistence fostered in medicine or the attention to detail honed in architecture – contribute uniquely to tackling challenges. Beyond the teamwork, witnessing the hygiene situation firsthand in under-resourced schools in rural Cambodia was truly eye-opening and impactful. It presented a stark contrast to the resource consumption and waste often seen in developed societies like Hong Kong. This disparity made me reflect deeply on the potential for a 'win-win' scenario if systems could better channel surplus resources from developed regions to meet fundamental needs in developing communities.

Student Representative of the Environmental Sustainability Committee

2018 - 2019

• Budgeted plans of the Environmental Sustainability Committee

Student Helper of College Assembly

2017 - 2019

• Arranged a crowd of about 1000 for College Assembly

Student Helper of Computer Laboratories

2017 - 2018

• Assisted college students with technical support

Shaw College, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Tutor of STEM Robotics Competition 2018

February 2017 - March 2018

• Guided teams from different primary and secondary schools through 26 practices of programming

Department of Electronic Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong