LAU Wai Ying, Tracy

Student of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Exchange to The University of New South Wales, Australia

Speech delivered at Parliament House, Sydney, New South Wales in September, 2013

The Honourable Barry O’Farrell, Premier of New South Wales, Mr H L Kam, Group Managing Director of Cheung Kong Infrastructure, The Honourable Linda Burney, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, representing the Leader of the Opposition, representatives of the Consular Corps, Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong awardees, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

I am Tracy, a Year 4 students majoring in Environmental Science at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. I went to University of New South Wales for a 6-month exchange last year.

It is an honour standing here today to share with you all my memorable exchange life. The first day of my arrival at Sydney was already unforgettable. I failed to meet the student helpers at the meeting point and I was dropped off at a wrong destination. But people are extremely friendly and helped me a lot and since that day, I have been feeling all excited!!

During my stay in Sydney, I had taken up geography and biology courses that allowed me to appreciate the unique flora and fauna of Australia and the evolution of its amazing natural wonders. Those courses surely have enriched my academic insight and the most exciting part was travelling to Sydney Aquarium, Blue Mountain, Pork Hacking, Botany Bay etc during my field trips. It was remarkably special and thrilling to visit Sydney in this extraordinary way.

All the people I met have definitely made my stay in Australia fruitful and memorable. I lived in an off-campus apartment which I shared with 3 Europeans and we were very close. I didn’t feel away from home at all. We watched movies together, went to parties on Friday nights, caught sunrise at Coogee beach, woke each other up at 3 am to watch the London Olympics Opening and climbed the Harbour Bridge. We still keep in touch and we may even meet up in Europe next year to travel again together.

I was able to visit Melbourne, Gold Coast, Cairns and New Zealand with the support of the Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong Awards. There were so many first times such as skiing, horse riding, surfing, mountain-biking and the first experience dive at the Great Barrier Reef was so amazing. I was totally fascinated by this natural wonders and since then I have been thinking about furthering my studies on corals or other marine-related areas. Right now I got myself a diving license and am doing a final year project on coral recruitment in Hong Kong.

I still remember on this very same day last year, I was in New Zealand spending the spring break with a group of exchange friends. I cannot believe time flies so fast. When I look back to the time I spent in Australia, I am really glad and grateful for this exchange opportunity which has opened myself up to new challenges and new experience. It is my pleasure to receive an Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong Award. I would love to express my deepest gratitude to Cheung Kong, Australia Government and both my home and host university for supporting me with this life-changing experience.

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