Engineering is not seen by today's youths as a "glamorous" option for study, but with her usual enthusiasm, Samantha was determined to do something about it. In 2015 she published a book in which 46 alumni and students from different engineering disciplines shared stories that she hoped would inspire secondary students to choose to study engineering at university and then pursue a career in the field. She began in September 2014 by reaching out to over 200 people, and finally managed to find 46 inspiring ones to share their stories about university life and why they chose engineering, as well as their career experiences and achievements. Samantha self-funded the book, which cost around HK $60,000, and has decided to donate all proceeds from the book sale to HKUST in recognition of how her alma mater has nurtured her into an all-rounded person.

One of life's "doers," Samantha not only sets out to find solutions to the problems she sees, but also makes the most of opportunities that come her way. She certainly flourished at HKUST, where she was among the first batch of students to benefit from the Alumni Endowment Fund (AEF) Service Award: she used the money to attend the G20 Youth Summit 2013 in St. Petersburg, Russia, where she represented China and Hong Kong as Minister of Environment. One summer she interned for three months as one of 10 young representatives at the United Nations in New York. That's not all: she also founded the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Student Chapter – HKUST, co-founded a social enterprise called Eldpathy to promote empathy for the elderly, and was recognized in the Hong Kong Top 10 Outstanding Youth and Social Service Award and as one of the Sai Kung Outstanding Youth in 2014. She also represented HKUST at a young entrepreneur's sharing session with Jack Ma, Founder of Alibaba. Most recently, Samantha was named as one of the 2018 EE 30 under 30 awardees by the North American Association for Environmental Education in recognition of her efforts to create positive change in her community and around the world.

Samantha currently works as a chartered environmental engineer at an international consultancy, and regularly contributes academic papers on environmental issues to international conferences. 

Know more about Samantha from:

North American Association for Environmental Education EE 30 under 30 - August 2018

Ta Kung Pao - May 1, 2016

SCMP Young Post - August 1, 2015

Wen Wei Po - July 9, 2015

Alumni News - June 2015

Find out more about Alumni Endownment Fund Service Award here.