Esther Chau, Head of Humanities, Co-ordinator Annual China Week programme and Alumni Co-ordinator

"...there are many opportunities for me to enrich the lives of my students as well as my own."

I love to teach at Li Po Chun United World College (Li Po Chun UWC).

I graduated from the United World College of the Atlantic (Atlantic College) many years ago when United World Colleges were not well known in Hong Kong. In fact, in those days there were only two UWCs.

My two years at Atlantic College had a significant impact in my life – for example had it not been for the IB Diploma, I would not have come across Economics and studied it at University. Living with international students from all over the world when I was young, ensured I became more tolerant of different cultures and people. I also engaged myself in more critical thinking and looked at issues from different perspectives. I found the experience very meaningful and worthwhile.

Though a UWC education is an expensive one, I do think it has an important role in training the next generation of leaders. After graduating from University, my first job was teaching in a local secondary school in Hong Kong. With further education, I became a lecturer in a tertiary institution. Having taught at university level for a few years, I realized that I enjoyed teaching more than doing research.

To me, being a teacher is more than simply transferring knowledge. In the Chinese culture, being a teacher is also like a mentor or a model to the students. Teachers have the ability to influence the lives of their students. I then decided I wanted to be a high school teacher rather than a university lecturer, which coincided with Li Po Chun UWC looking for a second Economics teacher – this was 1993. I applied for the job and since then, I have been teaching in the College.

I enjoy teaching at Li Po Chun UWC as there are many opportunities for me to enrich the lives of my students as well as my own. As my students are highly motivated in learning, I gain a lot of satisfaction when I can enlighten them in the subject and they end up choosing Economics as their major in universities. When we discuss the topic of economic development, I always encourage the students to return back to their own countries after university study and to contribute to their own community.

I would not enjoy teaching so much if I was restricted to a formal classroom context. Though classroom teaching takes up a major percentage of school time, it is only one part of campus life. Many teachers find living on campus has a negative affect on their private life. Luckily for me, both my husband and my children enjoy the residential life on campus and find pleasure in engaging students in our family life.

I initiated many services for the students as well as China Week which has become one of the features of Li Po Chun UWC. Each time the students come back from their trips to China, they are excited by what they have experienced and that makes me very satisfied. Being involved in the alumni network at Li Po Chun UWC gives me the opportunity to meet with our graduates and listen to their stories at their ten year reunion. Most of them have the same feeling as me: the two years at UWC is a significant and lasting part of their life - often a life-transforming experience. Over the past 15 years, I have supervised different service activities for the students including elderly home visits, supporting disabled children and adults, ethnic minorities, hospital and cancer patients as well as conducting primary and secondary school English tutorials. All of these activities have allowed me and the students to serve and get to know different groups of our community. These activities are a big part of how we develop our student into leaders. It is very encouraging when some of them continue to serve the community after College.

Teaching students from all over the world means that I am having an impact on the lives of many, who one day may have great influence on the lives of others in different parts of the world. It is great to be part of the UWC movement!