𝐌𝐲 𝐃𝐁𝐀 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫: 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞, 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 & 𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤

I’m deeply honored to be 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 “𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲𝐔𝐇𝐊 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐨” 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐦𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐊𝐨𝐧𝐠. The column aims to spotlight alumni stories that reflect how transformative learning can shape both career and life—and I’m humbled to share mine. Heartfelt thanks to the arrangement and effort from Shirley CHONG and her teammates.

My journey with the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) program began in 2008—a time when the acronym “DBA” often sparked confusion with “Database Administrator.” Back then, the program was still in its infancy, with my cohort being only the third since its launch. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 2006 𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐚 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭.  That spirit of mentorship inspired me and a few passionate DBA learning partners to establish the official CityUHK DBA Alumni Association—to create a space where learning partners could support one another across generations.

The path wasn’t easy. One of the most telling moments of this experience was 𝐚 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨 𝐈 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭: 𝐦𝐞, 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐣𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝-𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞. That image reminds me of the persistence, passion, and sleepless nights that defined those years. But more than the academic achievement, the program gifted me with a powerful mindset—one that continues to shape my mission and purpose. Wholeheartedly thank to those who I met, inspired and empowered me in my journey.

Since graduating, I’ve had the privilege of recommending and meeting future leaders through the program. What started as a personal pursuit of knowledge has evolved into 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲.

As we approach the 20th anniversary of the CityUHK DBA program next year, I can’t help but reflect on how far we’ve come—and how much more is possible when we support one another with curiosity, compassion, and collaboration. And stay tuned for our upcoming celebration as we mark two decades of excellence, leadership, and legacy.

To read more about my story, I invite you to 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲𝐔𝐇𝐊 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬.
English https://lnkd.in/gKReaUmy
Chinese https://lnkd.in/gjTx4cta 

 

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Professor Stephen Shum, Professor Muammer Ozer, Grace Liang, Dr. Bessie Chong
#DBA #CityUHK #CityUHKAlumni #CityUHKDBA #CityUDBAAA #DBAAA City University of Hong Kong