An Interview with Ms. Jang

Interviewer: Evelyn Kwan and Myriam Lynch Interviewee: Ms. Jang Location: Zoom

Layout by Ningjing Huang

XH: Could you please introduce yourself?

SJ: I teach MYP math this year, Years 7 and 8. And I'm also a Year 7 advisor. This is my fourth year of teaching and I started my teaching career at CIS four years ago. I left to another school in Hong Kong, and then came back.

XH: Did you always want to be a teacher like growing up? Or did you have other aspirations?

SJ: No, I've always wanted to be an engineer. So I actually pursued engineering first. So that was my first I guess, career before I became a teacher. But looking back, I think teaching has been part of my life for a while now, because I actually got into helping and tutoring as part of my service learning, actually, in my high school years. So what I did was I volunteered at a nearby elementary school when I was in high school. And I did that three times a week, every morning before my classes started, for almost three years. And I knew from that experience, how much I really enjoyed helping others learn. And I felt very, I thought that the experience was very rewarding.

XH: Where did you grow up?

SJ: I grew up in Canada. But I was born in Korea. I moved when I was, I think turning 11 to Nova Scotia, eastern Canada. So I grew up there. I finished my high school there. And then I went to school in Montreal. Yeah. I would say it's similar in a way I guess to CIS, in a sense that there is a strong sense of community. But also different because it wasn't an international school.

XH: How would you describe the culture at CIS in your opinion?

SJ: I would say friendly and welcoming.

XH: Growing up in Canada, what were the main influences that affected you?

SJ: I just think that having lived abroad for so many years since I was younger I was able to adapt to changes very quickly. So for me, whether that's changing careers or changing countries to work or live in isn't something that is foreign to me. It's something that I am very used to since I'm young. So yeah, definitely those experiences led me to going into engineering and then changing to teaching and discovering different passions.

XH: Could you share a bit about what it was like to shift from an engineering background to teaching?

SJ: For me, it was really exciting, because I've just always been a very curious person. And having that ability to switch from one like world to a different world has been really fascinating. It's completely different. As an engineer, I actually had a lot of responsibility, you know, you have to deal with money and sometimes, like, people's safety, etc. Whereas teaching, although is completely different, you get to really work in the environment with students and teachers. And you do have another different but strong sense of responsibility as well. So a lot of skills are transferable actually. I’m just really grateful, because I've always been really lucky to be in an environment where people will be very supportive. Whether I'm transitioning from one career to the next or, you know, moving countries.

XH:When you were growing up in high school, were you involved in activities that were maths related and engineering related?

SJ: I've never been in a maths club, or competitions like that at all.I was not interested 校話 期刊26 19

in the beginning. So, I've always wanted to solve problems, like just in general, not just specifically maths problems. But when I hear someone saying, Oh, I have a problem, I need to fix this. I’m just always there trying to help. And it was actually my chemistry teacher who thought that I would be really good in engineering. So he recommended that I look into it. Once I got into university, I think from hands-on experience of just going through university, I realised how maths is really useful in life, even if you're not doing a maths major, or if you're not in finance. So I started to really like maths in university.

XH: How was the transition of moving from Korea to Canada?

SJ: At the time, I think I was fearless. I was just excited, but of course I can’t say everything was good, of course there was good and bad. But I think the whole journey has really shaped who I am today, from facing challenges, being resilient, making new friends (I changed high schools twice), getting used to new curriculum and difficulty. But I think I always try my best and I have always been really lucky to have someone around whether that’s friends or teachers.

XH: You mentioned your chemistry teacher, do you think he had an impact on you? And if so, what about him and his teaching style allowed you to connect? XH: Where do you call home?

SJ: Yeah, I think he always tried to relate the concepts and topics to real life. And he himself actually wanted to be an engineer. So he would talk about what was inspiring to him and why he studied chemistry, etc. I was just always really drawn to his personal stories that were always related to what we were learning.

XH: What brought you to HK?

SJ: I got my first job after college in HK, as an engineer in a consulting firm. SJ: I think it’s really where my family is and they’re in different places. I think what I really miss is seeing family. Not being able to attend family events in the last few years has been really difficult.

XH: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?

SJ: I would go home and make sure everyone can come to where I am. Other than that, I really want to go to South Africa and Australia. South Africa because I want to go on a Safari.

XH: Have you picked up any hobbies during the pandemic?

XH: What differences did you find between living in Hong Kong and living in Canada?

SJ: I think one of the main shocks was how easy it was for us to pack our things and leave to a neighbouring country with very minimal planning. Because Canada, you do need to plan far in advance in order to get to somewhere. So having that ability has always been very nice. SJ: I've been really interested in graphic design. So I started to teach myself Adobe Illustrator. If you know me, I'm not the best drawer in the world. But I think with Illustrator at least I can, you know, put things together, put different colours. And you know, the computer does all the work.

XH: Are there any, like words of encouragement you have for students?

XH: What do you think is the biggest difference from precovid times to now in HK?

SJ: I think a lot of students and teachers are feeling very isolated. I think having that sense of strong community in CIS, its quite hard to connect. I haven't talked to my colleagues, and that’s been really tough. SJ: I personally think that experiences really shape us one way or another. And even good and bad. There is no such thing as failed experiences, you will always learn from it, and it will be a part of you later, so just cherish every experience. And enjoy it.

《望》

By Megan Yue | Illustration by Trini Chan | Layout by Ningjing Huang

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