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“Nothing happens unless first we dream” was the quote made famous by American poet Carl Sandburg. Bosco Chu, the recipient of Link University Scholarship, has taken this idea to the next level. For a line that better describes his life story, try “dreams don’t work unless you do.”
It is no exaggeration to call Bosco a born fighter, as an illness during infancy left him unable to walk normally. Yet that didn’t stop him from excelling in school – he is currently studying in The Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Computer Science Department. Like most young people his age, Bosco loves video games. “My favourite games are Terraria and World of Warcraft, because I enjoy how my fighting spirit gets awakened every time I come across new challenges in the games. As a metaphor, I’d say life is like a complicated yet fun game where you have to constantly fight to succeed,” Bosco said. “And I’m getting a lot of fun out of it.”
Bosco is quiet by nature, and can seem quite shy sometimes. Yet behind that appearance is a heart of grit and resilience. He never lets physical disability prevent him from living life to the fullest. Whether it’s in the physical or virtual world, whatever the role is, his self-belief never wavers.
He sees life as a series of missions. And the first goal that he sets for himself is to raise awareness for the needs of disadvantaged groups. Having been given so much help for his disability since childhood, Bosco now wants to prove that he is also capable of giving back. He recounted an experience he had while volunteering as a tutor for minority primary students. At the beginning, the little girl put up layers and layers of emotional walls to keep him away. Through sheer persistence and with sincerity, he gradually got her to lower her guards. One day, she even let him hold her hands while walking down the stairs. “It was a really comforting experience,” said Bosco. “We also showed that it is possible to overcome racial differences.”
For Bosco, volunteering is about more than personal satisfaction, it also allows him to look into the life stories of people from different backgrounds, such as the hardship faced by single-parent families and ethnic minorities. “This makes me understand that, even with my disability, I’m still very lucky,” he said.
Being financially independent was his next mission. Since achieving that goal at the age of 18, he has been paying for his own tuition and accommodation. This is no easy feat for someone who is only just entering his second-year at university. But Bosco has managed to support himself through part-time jobs and internships. It was for the same reason that he applied for the Link University Scholarship. Once he learned about Link’s core value and the scholarship’s judging criteria, such as whether the applicants care about the community, he decided to give it a shot.
While the scholarship is a pleasant surprise, balancing work, life and learning represent the day-to-day life of Bosco. Asked if he’s ever felt tired, Bosco simply replied, “I am so used to being independent and responsible to myself that they are now an essential part of my life. ”
The last life mission Bosco told us was to decide on a career path. And joining the Link summer internship programme was only the first step. “The way I see it, the earlier I am exposed to the job market, the more I can learn about different professions,” he said. “With the Link internship, not only can I apply what I learned from school, but I can also explore how the industry really works.”
Before returning to school in September, there was actually one other small thing in his mind: to be an exchange student somewhere outside of Hong Kong. Given his track record, it’s probably only a matter of time when this dream can come true!
