Ryan C: Majoring in Mechanical Engineering

In today’s offer story, we interview Ryan C, a dual applicant to British and Hong Kong universities. He shared with us his unique and exciting journey at DHSZ: from finding his path in choosing mechanical engineering as his major, to establishing a karting CCA at school and gaining leadership skills, to ultimately deciding to go to Hong Kong and choosing the University of Hong Kong. Ryan's story is not only about the journey of chasing his dreams but also a true portrayal of growth in challenges and perseverance through difficulties. Let's follow Ryan's footsteps and experience the invaluable lessons and experiences he gained on his journey of growth.

Ryan C (Y13)

HKU, PolyU, UCL,  Manchester,Warwick, Edinburgh

-Mechanical engineering

From Exploration to Determination: The Path of Mechanical Engineering

Ryan recalled his time when he first arrived at DHSZ in Year 10, feeling very uncertain about his future profession, so he decided to take his time to figure it out. He started to experiment with many fields, including mechanical engineering, bioengineering, and electrical engineering. In Year 11, he took part in the iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition), which not only allowed him to appreciate bioengineering, but also allowed him to meet a group of like-minded friends, as well as meet many outstanding teachers, from which he gained a lot of valuable advice and inspiration. However, it was this journey of experimentation that made him realise that bioengineering did not fit his interests and career goals.

Then, out of his love for cars, Ryan and his friends went to a car tuning room on a farm to dismantle and modify the engine together. "I've been fascinated by cars since I was a kid, with a countless collection of models and a passion for putting together Lego car models," Ryan told us enthusiastically. The hands-on experience not only immersed him, but also made him realise his boundless passion for mechanical engineering. He started to use his free time to work on his e-bike and told us, "There are actually a lot of complex mechanics in a simple e-bike, and I really enjoy understanding the principles behind them and getting hands-on experience to practice." Later, for his EPQ essay, Ryan chose to focus on automobiles. "I looked at electric vehicles because I wanted to develop n the field of new energy sources, such as hydrogen fuel cell technology." Time and time again, Ryan's path to the future became clear - and mechanical engineering became his firm goal.

Freedom Nurtures Passion, While Love Cultivates Skills 

Ryan said that when he first came to DHSZ, he "felt very free all of a sudden," and that this freedom made him relax a bit. But as he adapted to the environment, he realised that this freedom offered by the school was aimed at developing students into holistic leaders. " In a holistic education, as I understand it, a student needs not only to excel academically, but also needs to have high emotional intelligence, organisational, leadership and communication skills." Ryan began to think about how he could make the most of the freedom and resources that his school offered to improve himself.

Based on his love of cars and mechanics, Ryan had the idea to create his own CCA (Co-Curricular Activities) at DHSZ. Shortly after, the Karting Driver's Program was officially founded. However, the process of creating it wasn't all smooth sailing. At first, the teachers expressed concern about student safety as the CCA was conducted outside the school, which put a lot of pressure on him. But he didn't give up, perfecting the safety plan and insisting on communicating with teachers, which eventually led to approval. At the same time, he discussed issues such as venue chartering and costs with the karting venue manager, and through constant negotiation, finally reached a reasonable agreement. After all this preliminary work, Ryan began to "take the plunge" in promoting his CCA and recruiting members and succeeded in attracting students to join. With 24 members in the first batch, but only 10 karts at the venue, Ryan came up with the idea of a race system, dividing the members into three groups and planning detailed rules for the race. To enhance team cohesion, he also designed an exclusive Karting CCA tie, painted with Dulwich, karting elements and the Nürburgring circuit. Finally, he organised an unforgettable award ceremony.

Ryan has taken on the role of organiser both in setting up the new CCA and in organising events. He emphasises that CCAs in DHSZ can not only be teacher-led, but also give students the opportunity to exercise their leadership skills. "This platform not only allows us to pursue our interests and discover our strengths, but also to develop our organisational and leadership skills." 

No Ranking, Go Further 

For Ryan, the freedom at DHSZ is not only about students being able to organise their own activities, get along with their teachers as equals, and express themselves freely in the classroom, but also about the freedom the school gives them to grow. In this environment, students are not bound by academic performance rankings, which Ryan feels has strengthened him mentally. "In my previous school, I would be overly concerned about my test scores because we would be ranked. If I got good scores, I would feel happy, but if I didn't, I would be depressed for the whole month. However, at DHSZ, I realised that actually one or two exams will not determine or affect my life; they are just phases of my own academic journey. When I don't do well, I am more willing to analyse what went wrong and how to correct it without putting too much pressure on myself."

This sense of constant self-reflection and self-directed learning carries over into Ryan's daily studies. As a student who has chosen to major in engineering, he has developed higher, self-imposed standards for the study of science subjects such as maths, physics, chemistry and biology, likening them as "basic subjects that are the equivalent of the foundations of a building: You have to put the foundations in place before you can move up and build your own edifice." Even though he has always excelled in Physics, he encountered some challenges when he moved up to the beginning of Year 13. Due to the difficulty of the subjects required in Year 12, he didn’t achieve his goals at first, resulting in poor exam results. However, faced with such a predicament, Ryan chose to immediately seek help from his teachers, "who were able to point out my problems more objectively and accurately in relation to my status in class, and showed me how to correct them effectively. For example, when I brought my papers to my teachers, they could tell me what I was weak in and what I had a good grasp of, so I was able to identify my gaps in knowledge and make up for them in a more targeted way." Positive communication and independent learning allowed Ryan to make rapid progress in his physics studies. In his opinion, DHSZ pays particular attention to the cultivation of students' independence."The school provides abundant resources so that students can explore on their own. When encountering difficulties, students can take the initiative to seek help from teachers instead of waiting passively in their comfort zone."

Working Hard Throughout the Application Process 

Although there are students around Ryan who started to prepare for university application as early as Year 11 by taking part in various competitions, he believes that the application is also a process that needs to be figured out and explored on your own step by step. "I didn't start early because I wanted to cultivate my time management skills. When I actually began preparing for the applications, I found myself lacking knowledge about the details, such as competition registration and application timing. Fortunately, my counsellor, Ms Serena Shi, helped me sort out my preparations and always responded positively to my various questions." Sometimes Ryan felt a little confused about the significance and value of participating in competitions and why he had to spend a lot of time preparing for them, but Ms Serena's encouragement kept him motivated. "She told me that even if I didn't get the expected results or the competitions I participated in didn't play a role in my university application, the participation itself actually improves my skills. For example, participating in English competitions can improve my writing skills in personal statements and speaking skills in interviews. This convinced me to participate in competitions with a more positive attitude."

Choosing Hong Kong and the University of Hong Kong was also a well-considered choice for Ryan. He initially considered Imperial College, but after travelling to London for summer school, he found it difficult to adapt to the climate and food in the UK. Compared to the UK, Hong Kong has the advantage of its geographical location, and his family can easily travel to visit him at times. "The University of Hong Kong is my dream school because of its overall strength, world ranking, long history and rich resources, which all perfectly fit me and my family's requirements."

Advice from Ryan 

Students should now focus more on their current studies but do not put too much pressure on themselves. For Year 10 and 11 students, I would advise you to try out a variety of different subjects and majors and find your areas of interest, as these will determine where you will go at university or in the workplace. For Year 12 students, I would like to remind you to focus on the AS exams as this is the gateway to your dream university or top university. After a short period of relaxation at the end of the exams, you will need to start preparing well for Year 13 as the A Levels will be more difficult to study. 

I have also faced the challenges of learning across a wide range of subjects and levels of study, which has convinced me that it is crucial to seek timely help from teachers and communicate effectively with them when we encounter problems. At the same time, I firmly believe in the value of independent learning. Nowadays, there is a wealth of online resources and we should make full use of them to explore and learn proactively. As the saying goes, "Strong people never complain about their environment". When you enter university, you may find that the content of your teacher's lectures is very different from the content of your exams. In this case, the gap often needs to be bridged and filled on one's own. Therefore, we must always focus on independent learning and the ability to cope with challenges as an integral part of our growth process.