SHERYL WONG FS2021/22 THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

from Fung Scholars Network Newsletter Dec 2022

BEIJING CHAPTER & SHANGHAI CHAPTER

WONG TSZ YEE, SHERYL (FS2021/22, THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

In my last semester of college, I was honored to be elected as one of the Fung Scholars and given the chance to exchange at The Moody College in the University of Texas (UT) at Austin, which is renowned for its journalism program and vibrant learning environment. During my stay, I was immersed in a multicultural country where I was able to advance my spoken English while living my day-to-day life in a typical American college environment.

During the exchange, I took numerous advanced courses in the Moody College of Communication. Being one of the world’s best schools in journalism, Moody’s attention goes beyond local issues. I was exposed to more international debate during class discussion including but not limited to conflicts and wars, wealth gaps, gun issues, and LGBTQ rights, which really broadened my world view. I took the chance in my coursework to explore how it feels like to be a global journalist.

In August, the US government announced the withdrawal of US troops in Afghanistan and soon the Taliban took over most of the major city in Afghanistan. Realizing most of the news coverage was mostly about Americans left behind in the cities of Afghanistan. Thus, I proposed to work on Afghans’ lives under the Taliban as my news documentary topics. Overcoming different ethical concerns arose and limited footage, Homeland, recording an Afghan lady’s struggle to leave her beloved city is documented. The documentary was screened in class and brought some novel insights and angle to my American classmates, as we discussed in class.

I had also received great guidance from inspiring TAs and professors in Moody’s, they reminded me to pursue my passion in photojournalism. In the photojournalism course I was given weekly assignments to discover freely different parts of Austin. It was a joy to search and capture the urban development, the culture, and the people of the city. My term project was like nothing I have done before, and it was my first time to ever do underwater shooting and sports photography. Throughout the project, I followed a young Olympic diver in UT Austin to capture her intense training, study life and eventually the NCAA game, a national diving championship in the States. The photo project not only furnished my photographic styles and techniques, but also had a glimpse of the athletic training systems and support in the States. I am planning to continue the project, discovering the growth of the diver and the training system all around the world.

My exchange life beside journalism is equally magnificent. I took the Flamenco dance course which I hoped to learn gypsies’ culture and the history of flamenco dance. Proudly stepping out of my comfort zone, I transformed from the girl who has two left feet to a confident flamenco dancer. Meanwhile, I stayed in a student hostel and had a lot of great memories with all my local and international friends. In the dorm, we were encouraged to split chores with more than 70 people in the house. It was fun to collaborate with people from different backgrounds and cooking styles. I am proud to say my cooking skills have greatly improved ever since!

During the journey, all the students are opened to small talks and in-depth discussion, ranging from food, fun facts, travel to history, science, political spectrums and democracy

all around the world. For instance, we have a German student majoring in aerospace explaining the formation of geysers when we are visiting the Yellowstone National Park; Europeans and Asians discussing how is our understanding about WWII different from the point of view raised by the Museum in the States; Discovering New Orleans is actually one of the fastest sinking cities in the world when we are going on a road trip.

Throughout my time in Texas, I met with all kinds of multinational students who come from a range of countries and was lucky enough to even become close friends with a few amazing people, whom I know I can always keep in contact with even in the future when we no longer see each other as we did during my stay. The fact that I was able to even come close to getting an experience such as this is all thanks to the opportunity I was given to come live here in Austin and no other state aside from here could ever compare.

My Hong Kong friends and I performing a dance during Friendsgiving Dinner in the dorm on November 2010

Our group chose underwater as our theme during Liquor Treat events hosted in halloween Performing flamengo dance in class at the last day of school Visiting Yellow Stone National Park with students from the US, Germany, Czech, Portugal, Brazil, India, UK and Japan on 24 October

Underwater shooting with the Olympic Division, Haley Hernandez in Joe and Jamail Swimming Center at UT Austin on 12 Nov 2021 A boy takes a nap with the cow that he raised after the livestock show in the Texas state fair on 9 October 2021