#16 Add-Value


Dear LWSers,

I attended the New Year Gathering for the Chinese University Mentorship Programme (CUMP) 2019 last night. The CUMP features over 150 mentors, comprising successful business-people, doctors, lawyers, and government officials, and more than 300 mentees, including undergraduate and graduate students from CUHK. Sitting in the audience as extremely “successful” and busy people were introduced, I started asking myself the question, what is the impetus for someone taking valuable time out of their schedule to serve as a mentor; as well as what motivates someone to seek a mentor?


For young people (from birth to age 20~25), I think the best think you can do it to learn. When you are young, everything is new, sometimes confusing, often difficult, and maybe even scary; but each experience is also an opportunity to learn and grow and prepare yourself for what lies ahead. You know this because to enter CUHK, you must have had to learn through many years of primary and secondary school. Some of you feel adequately prepared for university, while others might find the independence and workload a challenge, at least initially. I hope that you continue to learn from not only your classes, but from workshops, internships, exchange, volunteering, or joining various societies.


The next phase is when you start your careers and/or family lives. In the process, you will develop unique skills and experiences that create value for not only yourselves, but also your family, friends, companies, and society as a whole. There might be setbacks, there will be successes, but after a while, your knowledge (and “value”) will increase.

Give Back

That brings us back to the CUMP and my initial query why mentors volunteer for the role. I am sure the specific reasons differ, but I believe behind each decision is the desire to give back. All of us have those in our past who nurtured, inspired, pushed, encouraged, tested, and helped us to become who we are today. By helping others, it compounds our experiences and multiples the value to those around us. I firmly believe in the saying “it is better to give than to receive”.

Final thought: as a university student, you are in the transition from being a student to being a contributing member of society. Use this time to learn as much as you can, but also consider how you may increase your abilities, and how you may give back in the future. Also, remember that we (the College and University staff) are here to help if you ever need.

Jeff Ng, PhD

Associate Professor - School of Accountancy

Dean of Students - Lee Woo Sing College

The Chinese University of Hong Kong