Leading Ladies: Shirley Man, Summerbridge Hong Kong
Summerbridge Hong Kong is a non-profit that organizes summer English programs for underprivileged local secondary school students.
The Executive Director of Summerbridge Hong Kong talks about how she got involved in social work and gives her take on education in Hong Kong.
I was born and raised in Hong Kong.
My grandparents are from a small village in the New Territories. We spent summers there—it was very different from city life. My grandparents were farmers, so we got to see the other side of Hong Kong.
I went to local girls’ primary and secondary schools. Ever since secondary school I knew I wanted to be a social worker. I went to Baptist University and majored in social work.
My first job was with a private local school: students from that school had pretty rough family backgrounds. Some of the boys lived in children’s homes.
I started doing workshops for Summerbridge, talking about youth issues with the teachers during orientation.
I got to know the directors there. At the time they were looking for [another] director, so it was perfect: I loved it.
I feel very lucky because not everyone can tell people they love their job.