Spring Issue, 2014

78 MENTORSHIP SCOTLAND Mentor: Professor Sally Stewart Mentee: Alan Poon 潘焯匡 (BA Year 3) “A week before I visited my mentor Professor Stewart, the former Prime Minister and a giant of the Conservative Party, Mrs Margaret Thatcher, had died. This stirred up intense discussions in the UK. In Scotland, the discussions were pretty fierce because generally the Tories are not welcome there due to their contradictory policies in the 1980s, and when a lot of Scots lost their jobs. Before I went to the Stewart's home, I had already sensed the hostility from some Scots towards the Iron Lady and the Tories, which made me pretty uneasy. Mrs Thatcher's funeral was scheduled during my visit to the Stewarts' home. Professor Stewart's son, Rory, is a Conservative MP so he had to go to St. Paul’s Cathedral to attend the funeral. That morning my mentor woke up very early to watch the live broadcast and in her study there lay lots of newspapers, from the left-wing to the right-wing, all reporting on the coming funeral and commenting on the life of the Iron Lady. Samson, an HKU student who came with me, and I were both immersed in the solemn atmosphere. That night Rory was on the radio to talk about what he felt at the funeral. Professor Stewart was so eager to listen to her son that she simply "invited" everyone into her study. Rory made some interesting yet balanced comments, which made his mother very pleased. I think this was the great way to learn about Scotland, as I was able to experience first-hand one of the biggest issues in the UK in 2013 and I could hear the points of views of the left and the right. I feel very lucky. Mr and Professor Stewart have a lot of energy and they are very eager to learn about and talk to youngsters. Professor Stewart uses a tablet and Kindle even at her age and Mr Stewart, 92, drove me all the way from his house to the train station. He was so cool! It was only me who was nervous. I was worried about him so when I was on the train, I called Professor Stewart to make sure he made his way home safely.” HONG KONG Mentor: Philip Fan 范仁鶴 Mentee: Sara Zimmermann (Arts, German exchange student) “I am really very thankful for the experience with my mentor. Mr Fan is a very gentle, warm-hearted and impressive man. Every time we meet he smiles and is very generous in terms of time and about sharing his experiences. He always asks what time would suit me and is very attentive. When he heard about my bachelor thesis, which is about Hong Kong International Airport, he immediately offered me help and arranged a meeting with the famous author Dr Philip Chen 陳南祿 (BA 1977; DipManStud 1983; MBA 1984), who wrote "Great Cities of the World". From this meeting I was able to take so much input, advice and directions that I could only wish for. I feel the project has a very good start now and I look forward continuing work on it. My mentor even introduced his family to us and I can tell they are all very inspiring and happy people. He talks with me a lot about historical and cultural topics, and I am always learning something new. Every meeting is very joyful and funny as well. Thank you very much for being my mentor, Mr Fan!” “Professor Stewart is an amazing mentor. She lives in a house in Perth and, as she welcomes mentees to visit, I was able to experience real Scottish life. She is also deeply interested in every sort of topics so I can talk about many subjects with her, from football to politics, from economics to history.” “Although he has been active as a mentor for many years, he maintains contact with every mentee and treats everyone of us as someone special.” In the photo (from left) Alan, Mr Stewart, Mentor Professor Sally Stewart, and Samson (back)