Ling U

“Since I was young, I have travelled a lot around Asia, and I grew very fond of Asian cultures and sceneries,” says Polina Vandysheva, 2020 graduate and currently Visiting English Tutor and coordinator at the English Language Support Service at the Centre for English and Additional Languages (CEAL) of LU.

To Polina, Hong Kong is much more than the business capital of Asia with the greatest amount of restaurants per capita. “You can find pretty much anything here, from beaches and remote islands to always busy financial districts, from street food to upscale dining, from kayaking to Disneyland,” says Polina, who regards Hong Kong as her home now.

The experience Polina gained during her study at a small private high school in the US made Lingnan her first choice.

“I was looking for a university with a small population and a desirable faculty-to-student ratio, which would give me a more genuine experience,” she says. “I was also very interested in liberal arts education, as I believe it can contribute greatly to one’s development and versatility. Lingnan was a perfect fit, and looking back, accepting LU’s offer was one of the best decisions of my life.”

Graduated with First Class Honours from the BBA programme at Lingnan, Polina has received eight scholarships and awards, including the Non-local Student Scholarships that cover full tuition fees for her four years of study.

She volunteered for joint humanitarian entrepreneurship in Nepal and taught underprivileged farmers how to grow shiitake mushrooms for better profits through subtitled videos. She also went on exchange to Charles University in Czech Republic with full travel grant from Lingnan.

At Lingnan, Polina served as emcees in various events such as the Spring Festival and International Day, and worked as a student consultant and content creator at CEAL for three years, where she designed and ran English workshops and activities to improve peer students’ language skills.

“Lingnan is a home to me with a lot of opportunities. It’s a big pride of my life!”