Recreational and Leisure Passions. I

¶ … recreational and leisure passions. I am an accomplished piano player, having passed the second-highest grade level in piano at the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music Practical Exam, as a demonstration of my proficiency. I was even able to perform a solo at Hong Kong City Hall in August of 2004. I have even started composing.

Beyond piano, I love art and have taken to sketching. This is one of my favourite methods of expression and I use the entire world as my muse. I have sketched now for seven years, and have had my works displayed at the Hong Kong Cultural Center and when I was younger in the monthly publication of True Light Middle School of Hong Kong.

In addition, I love travel, and I like to swim. Travel gives me exposure to a wide range of cultures, ways of thinking, and ways of communicating. Although it can be challenging, travel is one of the most rewarding things I have done in my life. I swim regularly, for exercise, and have done so for many years.

2. My career choice has been largely influenced by my upbringing. I grew up middle class in Hong Kong, with my father running several businesses both in Hong Kong and on the mainland. I see my father as the biggest influence in my life. His passion for what he does has rubbed off on me. In addition, I have had the opportunity to work in his businesses in my summers, and this has given me valuable work experience that has only strengthened my determination to become involved in finance and accounting.

I have been able to get hands-on experience in the field through my summer positions and through work at the Levanthal School of Accounting as a research assistant. I always had a strong sense of what I wanted to do because of my father, but having these rich experiences has convinced me completely of the path I must take in life.

3. My initial career objectives are to graduate and then take the HICPA in December. After that comes the process of building a long-term career. I want to come into KPMG and be able to make a contribution immediately. I wish to build my auditing knowledge and learn about business communication and how to be a professional. There is much to learn about professional standards of behavior, auditing skills and learning how to be a leader in my field.

I see myself as learning these basic things in order to propel myself into a career in accounting, consulting and eventually corporate finance. I wish to help companies to become better, to realize their objectives. In performing this service, I will realize my objectives as I take on progressively more complex role, perhaps eventually leading to a partnership or a small finance startup of my own, following in my father's entrepreneurial footsteps.

4. When I was a marketing intern at Hang Seng Trading, I was at a fairly low position in the company. However, I knew that I had a great contribution to make, applying some ideas that I had to the firm's operations to achieve cost savings. This required me to work together with a number of others in the organization. From a minor role, I was able to collaborate with shipping, production and marketing to achieve reduced inventory levels by 10%.