Joy Pamnani is a graduate of the Bachelor of Journalism Programme at the University of Hong Kong. She currently works as a Communication and Peak Performance Trainer at Inspire2Aspire Consulting, a wellness training company contributing to whole-person wellbeing, peak performance and self-improvement.
Since childhood, Joy has heard many wonderful stories about HKU from her teachers, alumni, and friends. HKU has been the top university on her list. “At HKU, I learnt to become a better person and had the freedom to decide on my academic goals, try out a diverse variety of part-time and freelance jobs, internships, extra-curricular activities, and volunteer work and challenge myself to go beyond GPA.”
“I admire my professors who encouraged me to challenge myself. A great example of this was a feature writing class I took in my 4th year of university, where our professor, Keith Richburg, did not just want us to write feature stories for grades but to get them published in newspapers and magazines. One of my stories, about how the protest affected my identity as a third-culture kid, ended up getting published in one of Hong Kong's most reputable magazines – FCC magazine!”
Serving as a student coordinator for the HKU Common Purpose Leadership Development Programme in the summer of 2017, Joy received the Tam Wun Tsun HKU Horizons Student Enrichment Award 2017 and Exchange Scholarship jointly funded by the Reaching Out Award and HKU Worldwide Undergraduate Student Exchange Scholarships.
“I have an eye-opening experience in the programme about essential leadership concepts and skills and the internship at the Oscar M. Lopez Center, a privately-funded NGO looking at the use of science and technology to improve climate change adaption and disaster risk management efforts in the Philippines. We have met many inspiring leaders passionate about climate change and identified common leadership traits.”
Meanwhile, Joy has a colourful university life allowing her to get a better understanding of what she is good at, what she loves doing, what the world needs and what she can be paid for.
“Over the years, I have represented my school, HKU and even Hong Kong in speech competitions, including winning the District 89 Table Topics Championship in 2020! It can be easy to win a contest and forget about self-improvement, but HKU Campus Toastmasters Club kept me on track as I came in as the president at a time membership was on the decline, Hong Kong was getting into social unrest, and the pandemic hit. But the experience taught me a lot about leadership and the importance of persistence amid tumultuous times.”
