Shui Kee "Sindy" Mak
Sindy Mak is a sophomore at the ILR school.
“I was born in Hong Kong. I went to Li Po Chun United World College. United World College is an international school. It is a two year program. It is a boarding school. What is so special is that we are grouping students from all over the world. We have students from more than 60 countries and by sharing a room together and by sharing campus life, we really learn a lot from each other. This was the rewarding experience of my high school life; to live together with someone who is very different from you.
“We were full-time high school students and we had a lot of extra curricular activities. We were involved in the IB Program, an international baccalaureate; an international examination system.
“For Li Po Chun, the main element is Chinese culture. During my two years at Li Po Chun, I brought out the Chinese culture and let the other students know what is so special about China.
“I first heard about the Davis United World College Scholars Program through our Director of Guidance at Li Po Chun. He promoted the program and I was very excited when I realized Cornell University joined this program in 2004. I immediately applied.
“It is because of the international environment at United World College that I have found my passion of cross-cultural understanding. By participating in the program, I can continue to pursue this passion in my college experience.
“The United World College mission is to make education a force that unites people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future. Graduating from UWC has prepared us to become responsible citizens who are politically and environmentally aware, and committed to the ideals of peace and justice. On top of balancing our lives with academics, personal qualities and extra-curricular activities, we strive to implement these ideals through action and personal example.
“I visited a Burmese refugee village in the northern part of Thailand during my first year Project Week at Li Po Chun. The village was guided by the Thai army and these refugees were never allowed to leave the village. After we arrived there, a teacher who taught in the village school brought us to his students. I can still remember the face of a girl I communicated to using hand gestures and simple broken English. She wanted me to write letters to her and tell her about the outside world because she was born in the village and already anticipated her entire life being in the same place. I wrote several letters to her later but I suspect that they never got to her. Both of us wanted to connect with each other so much but it did not happen. At that time, my career goal changed. I was no longer a city girl who was satisfied with what I had. I decided that what I really wanted to do was to make an impact on others. I wanted to make a difference in people's lives.
“There are currently ten United World Colleges. Each College has its own distinctive character and reflects its geographical location and local culture. However, all share a common mission and a commitment to the ideals of the UWC movement. Li Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong offers a two-year pre-university boarding education for students aged 16-19 based on the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum. Within the IB Diploma, students take six subjects: three at higher level and three at standard level, together with three distinctive core elements: a Theory of Knowledge course which encourages reflection on the nature of knowledge, a 4,000-word research essay, and the Creativity, Action, Service (CAS) Program, which stresses the importance of life beyond the academic curriculum.
“LPCUWC promotes social interaction between Asian and non-Asian students and also encourages students to develop a greater understanding of China. Pronounced 'Quan Cai', this is the Chinese concept of the development of all of one's faculties and it is the term that LPCUWC has chosen to describe the wide range of activities, outside of formal academic education, in which students become fully involved. As symbolized by the choice of title, many of the activities offered have a Chinese element to them. I was in the Chinese Dance school team and participated in the Hong Kong Dance Festival. I also paid regular weekly visits to an orphanage for mentally-challenged children outside school.
“The real difference of LPCUWC from other international schools that also offer the IB curriculum is that our boarding experience helps us to appreciate, respect and value other students' background and lifestyles. Since we come from more than 60 countries all over the world, it is not easy to live with people so different from us. However, it turned out to be an amazing experience to share a room with three other girls and I learned a lot about other countries' traditions and customs.
“Since this is still the starting year of the Davis Program at Cornell, we have not organized any formal activities yet. But I really hope to initiate a 'UWC club' with other UWC graduates in the coming year. With an increasing number of UWC graduates coming to Cornell, our club can become a 'family' network for prospective students, and of course we encourage and welcome all other non-UWC students with similar ideals to join us too!
“I enrolled at the ILR School because of the small community setting in such a diverse university and the specialized programs in workplace studies which match with my intellectual interests. It is my belief that a country's development hinges on its labor system, and it is my dream to be able to make a contribution to the labor systems in developing countries after receiving four years of formal education regarding labor issues at ILR.”
