Esther's Final Chapter at LPC

Dear beloved LPC family,

I have the honour to be invited to write in the newsletter as my last year at the College.  I joined the College in 1993 as an Economics teacher and I will be retiring at the end of this academic year (2025-2026).  LPC has been an important part of my life as I have spent more than half of my life time here.  This is not just a place for work, it is my life.  My children grew up here.  I still remember when I first came to interview in 1993, the College was located in a rural part of HK which was not easy to get to besides having a car.  My son was three months old when I joined the College and my daughter was born here.  Both of them graduated from the College as well.  As a UWC graduate myself, I am fully committed to the UWC value and mission.  Two most important ones to me are compassion and service, action and personal example.  One of the main reasons that I got the scholarship to study at Atlantic College was because of my involvement in community service.  Since then, I have served different underprivileged groups in Hong Kong.  I enjoy helping others and I set myself as an example to the students.  It is important to have compassion for others so that we can really understand their needs.    I always tell the students that UWC is an ideal and we are trying to reach it by making small changes in ourselves. Some students come here and get disillusioned because they have high expectations on others.  The focus should not be on others changing but ourselves.  If we take action to love and be kind, the place is a better one.  

I was like many of our students who left home to study abroad in a foreign environment at a very young age.  Nowadays, students are able to connect with their friends and families easily with different social media and platforms.  During my time at Atlantic College, I was only able to call my parents on the phone during Lunar New Year because it was so expensive to make IDD calls. I learnt to be independent and took care of myself.  Even if I had an operation in hospital, I only let my parents know after I completed the operation.  I worked during summer vacation in the UK because I could not afford to return home.  Many UWC alumni would have similar experiences of growing up when they were away from their families.  With the intellectual challenges of TOK and the search for freedom, I left my Christian faith while I was at AC.  With the IB curriculum, I was able to turn from a science student to a humanities student.  My teacher inspired me in Economics and since then, this became my interest.  The concept of ‘efficiency’ is always pushing me to make the best use of my time as that is the only resource that I have.  Of course, every time when I make a choice in my life, I would consider the ‘opportunity cost’.  With no faith, my goal is to maximize happiness by earning the most.  However, after 7 years, Jesus called me back to Him and my life goal changed.  I still want to maximize, not on happiness but inner joy and peace.  I enjoy being a teacher as I can inspire my students in liking Economics.  However, the most important thing is to support them in their life journey.  When I reflect on this in my last 33 years at LPC, I am full of gratitude and joy.  I have to thank everyone in my life: because of you, I became who I am today.  I have tried my best and I have no regrets in my life.  I also hope that you have no regrets in your life.  Although I also faced challenges at the College, they were always overcome by patience and prayer.  What I remember most are moments when students come to say thank you after class or they show their excitement in learning.  LPC to me is a place full of fond memories and blessings.  However, I do need to move on as life has different stages.  There is a time for everything.  It is time to leave.  Just like many alumni, though they have left the College, they are still connected with the UWC movement.  UWC has made a significant impact on my life and I believe it has also made an impact on you whether it is big or small.  UWC is a dream.  Let us continue to dream and take action to make the dream come true.  I have to thank my husband for being with me and serving at the College in the past 33 years.  

Thank you in reading my sharing and I wish all of you a meaningful and fulfilling life.

Esther Chau