I would never regret for having studied at the Caritas Institute of Higher Education for four years. I am very glad to have chosen Community Studies as my major stream. Throughout these four years, I have deepened my knowledge in multiple areas including social policies, gender perspectives and cultural studies. I learnt not only in the classrooms, but also internship experience at a political party. My horizon was widened. I learnt and understood the needs of grassroot in the society. This experience inspired my interested in serving the grassroot community. Currently I am devoting in the community development of the grassroots, and youth work. I can fully utilize my knowledge learnt to fight for the rights of the grassroot community, and to promote their personal development.
I could approach to various social issues including gender equity and elderly policies in the four-year study in Community Studies. I learnt a wide range of theories and concepts, studied different topics, and gradually developed various areas of interests. Among them, elderly service is the area that interests me most. In Year 3, I had internship at the office of a legislative councilor to study and follow up elderly policies. I am therefore very grateful for Caritas Institute of Hong Kong for offering Community Studies programme, though which I have become enthusiastic in social issues. This learning experience enables me to work at an elderly service centre. I plan to continue my studies and develop my career in the social service sector.
At Caritas Institute of Higher Education I met classmates who were willing to support and accept each other, and teachers who were enthusiastic to deliver knowledge and care for students wholeheartedly. Here is an institute where I could find warmth and caring.
Please refer to the Chinese Version.
Few years ago, I never expected myself to be able to gain a bachelor’s degree. Thanks to a psychologist who introduced me to CIHE. I was a student with low self-esteem and always regard myself as a failure. But with the encouragement from my teachers and professors I met here, I managed to complete this journey successfully. Thank God that whenever I knelt down in the chapel and cried out for help, He comforted me. Thank every teacher I met, especially my professors from the psychology team, who have been willing to spend their life for the growth of students and guided us to the way of success.
Recalling of what I have learnt in my studies here, everything is applicable in both my life and my job. More than that, I got to know more about myself, rebuilt my own self-esteem, geared up and got ready to delicate my life for the needy.
Time flies, and all of us will continue on our own life journey. After graduation, I studied a Master’s Degree in speech therapy. Now I am a school-based speech therapist. I look forward to make good contribution to the society and help more people in need. When life is too hard to stand, kneel.
Please refer to the Chinese Version.
Community Studies covers political science, sociology, cultural studies and gender studies. These four areas are inter-related and reinforce each other. Throughout the program, teachers gave us a lot of freedom. This enabled us to observe and analyze different events with macro perspective, so as to develop our strength.
Through the Community Studies programme, I realize that there are many social norms in our society. From the viewpoint of the society, conforming social norms is necessary for practical reasons. People who violate social norms, even if they have sublime goals, will be considered as deviant who undermine social stability. However, who decides what's right and wrong? These social norms not only restrict people from making reasonable choices, but also hinder social progress.
After graduation I served at a community organization as a full-time community organizer. My major duties were visiting to communities and interact with habitants. Through activities such as community video shows, local residents can express their own views on their community, so that they realize their right to express and to fight for their rights.
The most important thing I have learnt is: no matter the result is good or bad, there should be partners who keep in faiths, exchange views and work with me. Without people, there will be no community. Therefore, gathering people and enabling them to interact with each other is an indispensable element for an integrated community.
Please refer to the Chinese Version.
Over the years of my studies in Caritas Institute of Higher Education, my life is never regretted. At the beginning, I had only little interest in psychology. Today, I can tell I really love the subject. With my teachers' encouragement, assistance and love, I determine psychologist to be my career. I will devote my life to studying psychology. In the learning process, I know how to learn from failure. My teachers' timely assistance and selfless care helped me to learn from experience and strengthened my passion in psychology.
Please refer to the Chinese version.
Please refer to the Chinese version.
Community Studies provide students with an all-round learning experience which covers both the theoretical and practical dimensions throughout the four-year study. Regarding the theoretical learning, it offers me with adequate sociological training. The courses are inspirational; they help me develop a clear and in-depth understanding of the current issues in Hong Kong, nurture students to develop multidimensional thinking, and cultivate students' critical thinking skills. For the practical training, it has offered me with various opportunities to keep in touch with society. For example, I took part in a visit related to organic farming and had an experience of being deviant. All these experiences are interesting.
From the Community Studies programme, I learnt many skills related to community development; I understood how to organize and facilitate community movements. Furthermore, the programme increased my motivation to further study in sociology. Overall speaking, I had a fruitful learning experience.
First things first, I have to say thank you to all of my lecturers, classmates and people I met in Caritas Institute of Higher Education. After learning different aspects of psychological knowledge, I am able to apply them in my workplace: such as effective communication with co-workers, and developing good relationship with clients. Also, it is such a crucial inspiration to my personal growth after finishing the programme. The most significant influence in my life is the change in the way I perceive the world. Sometimes it is hard for us to control what happen in our life, but the way we perceive it. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!
Please refer to the Chinese version.
Please refer to the Chinese version.
I have worked in social work field for several years. I realized the importance to put theory into practice. However, it is not easy to explain all the situations with theories. I know little about my clients, still, I have to learn more about human psychology and the ways to handle different social problems. Many people will have to deal with difficult situations in their lives and to make difficult decisions. The decision always has its own meaning. Sometimes, our clients do not know what they need, therefore, creating a lot of confusion and anxiety. I really want to continue to study, to learn more, to understand people, to continue to walk with them, to grow together, and to help others to help themselves. (Bell)
Many students here share a common dream and all of us want to strive for our dreams. I have a desire to develop my ability through studying part-time degree courses. I think personal growth is necessary if I have to address the performance deficiencies in my work. I work in elderly service area. The social workers of our centre often handle complicated cases like elderly poverty and abuse cases. Because of the complexity of the cases and limited resources, sometimes we failed to handle the cases. Under these circumstance, I determined to further my studies and decided to apply for a Bachelor of Social Work Honours program to enhance my knowledge and skills. During my study in Caritas Institute of Higher Education, I meet a lot of classmates who are interested in learning and they work hard for their future. At present, the CIHE is in developing stage. We have to build the reputation of our school. I hope that one day our school will become the first Catholic University in Hong Kong. It will continue to nurture social worker and serve the community. (Ming)
I have studied in CIHE for one year. I have a complex feeling towards my study. I love to be with my classmates and they can provide me with support and encouragement. This makes me feel that I am in a big family. However, I feel the time is passing too fast. I really cherish to be with the teachers and classmates. It's really wonderful to be a student again. Why I choose to enroll in part-time Bachelor of Social Work course? Because I often remember why I choose to be a social worker and to walk with my clients. I enjoy to be a social worker, to make use of my own stories and experiences and to support the young people. Although it is very tired to study in evening, I still want to work towards my dream. (Chun)
I appreciate the teachers of the part-time Bachelor of Social Work course. The teachers are very good. Most of them are eager to teach and they are willing to provide support to students. Many people said that CIHE has employed many capable teachers who often encourage students and give students motivation. In addition, I appreciate our classmates because they have good study attitudes, being responsible in the group projects, have clear mind and reasonable thinking logic. They often try their best to attend lessons in the evening. Although they are very busy in their work, they try to attend every lesson. The school environment is good and provides us enough space to study. Also the public spaces and student lounges are good enough. (Shirley)
Being a part-time student, it is very demanding for us to strike a balancing between our living, work and study. Returning to the campus after working for some years, I meet again a lot of familiar faces. They are my friends, classmates and become our partners. During my classes, I can feel how hard the teachers are preparing their work and delivering their lectures. They help us to re-examine our social work values, the roles of social workers and how should we re-position ourselves. It is clear that as a helping profession, we always need to continue upgrade ourselves. Our classmates are coming from different organizations and fields of service. Through learning from one another, I reflect that I know very little. When I get exposed to such a wide range of areas of knowledge in the social work profession, I learn that I have to be very humble. I hope that our partners can support one another during these three years of study. Although heavily engaged in work, we still study happily together; feel exhausted but fruitful.