President’s Scholars 2022–23
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The President’s Scholarship was established in September 2011 when LU received a generous donation of HK$8 million from Dr Helmut Sohmen. Each year, a top student seeking an opportunity to study at a prestigious liberal arts college overseas receives the honour of becoming the President’s Scholar. Miss Tam Nga Man Valerie, a fourth-year sociology student, and Miss Aina Solis, a third-year arts student from the Philippines majoring in visual studies, were proud to be selected as the 10th and 11th President’s Scholars, respectively, which enabled them to undertake a year’s study at Davidson College in North Carolina in the US in the 2022–23 academic year. Aina and Valerie heartily enjoyed their rigorous yet stimulating studies at Davidson College. Aina felt privileged to take filmmaking classes offered by a professor with Hollywood industry experience, who brought in renowned guest speakers and taught her important lessons, such as how to tell a thought-provoking story and what keeps an audience engaged. She also attended a workshop where a Hollywood director taught about the ins and outs of the industry. In addition, Aina explored different areas of study by taking a Programming and Problem Solving computer science course and a Screenwriting course. These developed both her soft skills and practical skills, such as coding in Python and C#, which enabled her to crystallise and communicate her ideas and core values. Despite the heavy workload, she appreciated how the different courses provided experiences in a wide range of projects, such as making a video, annotating a movie, or creating a small game. Both Aina and Valerie greatly enjoyed the highly active classroom environment of Davidson College, with students of diverse backgrounds engaging with course material and often speaking up in classes and participating in course discussions. To Aina, “Having a cohort of students with different cultural backgrounds led to stimulating experiences and debates, challenging our beliefs and understanding of how the world works. I began the exchange viewing the world in shades of grey but ended the exchange knowing the world has multiple colours. I became more aware of the people around me and increased my emotional intelligence”. This interactive learning atmosphere at Davidson College also positively influenced Valerie, who used to be shy. She found her professors approachable and became motivated to seek one-on-one advice during their office hours whenever she had questions. She cherished the heartfelt advice from her educational studies professor that bidirectional communication is the essence of education. This highlighted that she was not the only one who mastered knowledge in class: the professor also learned from Valerie through her work and their interaction. Supported by travel grants from Davidson College, both students had invaluable opportunities to extend their future horizons. Valerie took a course on educational studies at Davidson College that aroused her interest in delving into education. Thus, she visited six reputable universities in the UK to explore the academic environment and learning atmosphere, which led to her to decide to pursue a Master’s degree in sociology and conduct sociological research in academia. Aina’s academic interest in art film led to her to travel to Los Angeles in March 2023 to visit multiple film schools, where she gained access to their film archives for research for her Capstone Project about how art film explores ideas of cultural identity, and connected with other film scholars and professionals to expand her social network. 
Valerie explored various cultural landmarks, including the Tower Bridge in London, during her visit to the UK, which was supported by a travel grant from Davidson College. 
Aina visiting the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles, California, US. |
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By reflecting upon Lingnan’s ethos and motto of Education for Service, Aina and Valerie served as Lingnan ambassadors to the Davidson College community. In particular, they and two other students co-founded a Hong Kong Society at that promoted Hong Kong culture to Davidson College students and local communities. This included showcasing Hong Kong food, the biographical martial arts film Ip Man and Cantopop culture and giving brief Cantonese lessons at an International Festival and other events. Furthermore, at the Davidson Verna Case Symposium, Aina presented a short documentary to celebrate third culture individuals. Moreover, Valerie served as a volunteer note-taker for the Office of Academic Access and Disability Resources for one semester, which involved her sharing her week’s lecture notes for a class with another student who needed assistance in learning. Valerie learned a lot through her service and stated, “I experienced a friendly, knowledge-sharing culture. Students in Hong Kong are often intensely competitive, so they tend to keep their knowledge to themselves. However, we can all grow together by helping each other out”. This once-in-a-lifetime chance to study at Davidson College allowed Valerie and Aina to flourish academically and also achieve tremendous personal growth.  
Opening dinner organised by the Hong Kong Society to welcome students from different cultural backgrounds to celebrate Hong Kong culture. |