Testimonial by 2017 IEP Taiwan Participant Gigi Chen
2017 IEP 台灣學員 Gigi Chen 感想

Joining this programme is the best experience of my learning ever. Why? Apart from making this vacation become meaningful, I see my potential future after these days. Due to a serious typhoon, the agenda is cut down into three days, which was more amazing that I could gain that much in the limited days.

A week before the start of my trip to Hong Kong, my friends and I paid much attention on planning for the other days which we didn’t not have classes. We didn’t have as much interest in this programme. However, I know I was totally wrong after the first day of the programme! Because of the small group size, we get to know each other more easily and deeply. ICE team has a magical power of making everyone to open up and trust each other. I think this is very important for the programme as we can only trust each other by opening our hearts to share, to learn, and to discover true selves. As there are too many interesting courses which will take me a whole day to share, I will only mention some of the impressive activities and my reflection.

First of all, I learnt a lot from the seven “leadership attributes”. The team successfully made us keep the attributes in mind through designing mini games for each attribute. Although I was a captain of volunteer group in my school and have led up to a hundred juniors for a four-day activity, I’ve never examined myself according to these attributes. Thus, I consider I have a big room of improvement in leadership. Thanks to the detailed introduction, I am more confident to be a better leader in future. Besides, I even shared these attributes with my family because they are truly influential.

Another part I enjoyed in this programme is the “campus tour” in the top three universities in Hong Kong. Although I’ve already entered college in Taiwan, I realized that there are more and more excellent chances for me to discover the world. Also, the students who showed us around are so generous to share their experience, and it really broadened my horizons. Apart from the daytime courses, the team spent their evening with us to visit some local places. I feel pleasure to have a good time with them and I always look forward to this kind of touring. Because of these casual time, we knew more about Hong Kong’s culture and its beauty. Instead of traveling with a tour group, I would love to visit other countries in this mode next time.

The most profound part for me is the “future exploration”. The seventeen-minute journey allow me to see my future. When I closed my eyes, it was hard to concretely imagine my future; however, when recovering my past, I saw my efforts, happiness, achievement, and lots of beloved friends. Suddenly, I figured out that we can’t change our past, but can make our future more brilliant ever! I made up my mind to fill out the blank of my future, and the team also gave us some tips, and that is “curiosity and confidence will always influence my career and even my life”.

Actually, I read a few self-help books before this trip to try to find my interest. It’s the programme that inspired my curiosity, so I can now keep asking “what” and “why” in my daily life. It also promotes my thinking skills and I feel fruitful every time when I learn something new due to my curiosity. On the other hand, I used to consider how people see me or think of me; thus, I couldn’t truly be myself all the time. During the programme, I found out that all the seniors shared their ideas and experience with confidence, and that’s what I’m lacking of. Everyone is like a grand book, filled with stories and is willing to share with others. However, only when we are curious and confident, this process can be smooth and awesome.

Lastly, thanks to the programme, this summer vacation became the turning point of my study career. I grow a lot because of the activity, and I will never forget all the moments I spend with the team.

Gigi 

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