Deng Min

Graduated from Hubei Shashi Middle School

Now working at Pingan Group

Shenzhen, at the end of January is still warm and humid. On a sunny afternoon, I first saw Deng Min, a student of Applied Economics from SME. She was confident, mature, amiable, and well at ease. While talking to her, I could deeply feel the change this university has brought to her.

The result of Min’s College Entrance Examination turned out slightly disappointing to her, which unexpectedly created the indissoluble bond between her and The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen. Choosing a newly established university requires courage and adventurous spirit to step out of the comfort zone. During the four years at CUHK-Shenzhen, Min experienced many challenges. One of the courses that impressed her most was a behavioral finance course taught by a visiting professor from Fordham University of the United States during the first senior semester. "It was the first time for me to do a project on a phenomenon I observed under the guidance of a professor." She benefited enormously from it. At the same time, Min attended a WeChat financial questionnaire competition jointly organized by Tencent and Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The professor offered Min and other students a lot of suggestions. During class break, the professor also shared information about master's programs in the United States. "He kindly offered me a great deal of help in my studies. More importantly, he influenced my view about career planning." After finishing the course, Min and the professor stayed in touch via email, and later the professor even wrote her a letter of recommendation for her application. Every year, CUHK-Shenzhen will invite distinguished professors to give lectures on campus.  Min strongly suggestedthat we should try these courses and make good use of these privileged resources.

In addition to course work, Deng Min has also participated in research projects. She served as an assistant to the Chief of Deutsche Bank in Greater China Area and became the project leader. Many opportunities to communicate with leaders in the industry were presented to her during this period. Their scholarly temperament also influenced Min's attitude towards academic research. The rewarding results of the previous WeChat questionnaire competition has won her the invitation from Prof. Xiong Wei and Shenzhen Stock Exchange to further her research project into the second phase, the findings of which were submitted to Shenzhen Stock Exchange and later sent to major securities companies. "After this attempt, I found that scientific research is not as difficult as I imagined." At the meantime, Min has formulated a clearer picture of her academic and career development path.

Deng Min (On the right) Studying at UBC

Apart from studies, Deng Min’s university life is full of colour and adventures. In her freshman year, she, together with several American and Canadian friends operated an NGO (Non-Governmental Organization), which they called Freer. They sought to provide an oversea volunteer programme to prepare students who plan to study abroad in the future. Within two years, Min has grown into a mature team leader, managing 20 to 30 people. At the same time, she was actively involved in the establishment and development of CMA, a club for student media workers.  These experiences made Deng Min realize the importance of leadership.

"It takes great resilience and flexibility to work efficiently with people without causing antagonism." Also Meanwhile, valuable ties were created, and her communication and teamwork skills were polished, adding invaluable assets to both her personal life and career development. 

Even after entering senior years, university life is not limited to study and club activities. Min began to apply for internships ever since the summer of her sophomore year. In terms of internship, she suggested that we should try different types of work and find out where our interests and skills really lie. She has had internships in various companies such as Harvest Fund, Guosen H&S, and BCG. Her well diversified internships has allowed her to conduct attempts multidimensionally. She emphasised that although social networking is important for business students, the key remains our accumulation of experience and field expertise. The platform also matters, especially in your first internship. Min expressed: "Internship often starts with dealing with chores. We’d better keep a positive mindset". Besides, we should learn from the people around us, so as to better prepare ourselves for future application.

Upon graduation, Min hasa lot to say to her alma mater, her parents and fellow schoolmates. She is very grateful for all the experiences CUHK-Shenzhen has created for her. She has metamorphosed into a confident inter-personal communicator and resilient stress-handler. She believes CUHK-Shenzhen is of infinite potentials and possibilities. "After studying at this university, we have developed an internationalized perspective." And the highly competitive academic atmosphere here has also allowed us to better adapt to future work and study environment. Talking about her parents, Min, who has always been tough, could hardly hold back her tears.  She could not describe how thankful she is for their support, allowing her the freedom of choice, abundantly providing for her both materially and spiritually. Thus she can be an independent individual, planning her own life. At the same time, she regrets that there are fewer opportunities to go home now. She hopes to achieve her goals as soon as possible so that she can spend more time with her parents.

To her fellow schoolmates, Min wants to crystalize her feelings into one word: "Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone." We must step out of the comfort zone to embrace new experiences. The key is to conquer our fear of the unknown and try everything out. For each attempt, we must keep our eyes open to the resources available on the platform. First, we should make good use of the resources provided by the university. We should also seize the opportunity within our field during our internship. Thus can we hope to create more opportunities for ourselves and our fellow schoolmates. Min also mentioned that although GPA is important, university life is supposed to be a way bigger story than that. We should stay open to different experiences, manage our time and balance between work and recreation.

Interviewer: Zheng Tianqing