“Your knowledge stays with you forever. Every effort you put in brings you one step closer to your goal.”
LAI Tsz Leung
Lee Shau Kee School of Business and Administration ·Sports and Recreation Management · Year 4
Lai Tsz Leung had worked as a track and field coach for ten years until COVID-19 dealt a heavy blow to his career, but he transformed the challenge into an opportunity by reinventing himself as a full-time undergraduate Sports and Recreation Management student at HKMU.
When he was small, he was part of the Hong Kong Junior Athletic Team, specialising in 400 metres hurdles. It was not without pain for him to switch tracks from being an athlete to working as a coach to, surprisingly, returning to school. “I barely passed my first assignment. I then realised I had to learn from scratch how to do my homework.” He cherished the opportunity to start a new chapter in his life. “I came to class in person even when remote learning was an option. In my freshman year, there were often just me and the professor in the classroom. It was not until my sophomore year that I finally met my classmates and got to enjoy real campus life.”
Lai has recently been offered a position as a Sports Officer in the Hong Kong Schools Sports Federation. “Having a career in sports is so much more than coaching and training; it takes much administrative effort to promote physical activity among the public.” He feels eager to apply what he learnt to his new job, looking forward to coordinating high-quality local and overseas competitions, and bringing memorable matches to secondary and primary students.
With graduation on the horizon, Lai takes no pause in his quest for knowledge. He plans to pursue a part- time Master’s Degree in Sports Science in the hope of further advancing his career. “I will keep learning as long as I am willing to learn. I was overwhelmed when being awarded the scholarships, but it is a testament that if someone who had left school for a decade can achieve this, you sure can, too!”
