Realising ambitions

Sophia Au is a Wealth Management Director at FTLife, one of the largest life insurance companies in Hong Kong and is the presenter/host of the bilingual business podcast Step Into Abundance 360. Sophia graduated from Lancaster in 2014, where she studied a degree in Marketing and was a member of Pendle College.

Picture of Sophia

Career-enhancing opportunities and a community for life

Written by Sophia Au

Why Lancaster was for me

I am originally from Hong Kong, but I wanted to study in the UK to gain international insights and experiences. I felt that it would be a great opportunity to develop a global network of friends. I chose Lancaster because it is highly ranked in league tables and is known for its excellent research and teaching quality. I particularly liked that the teaching was highly practical and not just theoretical.

Lancaster was also appealing because of its surroundings. It’s close to nature and is a really refreshing environment. I really enjoyed being able to go hiking and visit the Lake District. It also felt a lot safer than other cities like London and Manchester, giving me a sense of being a peaceful home.

I would describe Lancaster as an excellent place for high-quality teaching in a fantastic environment with a great network of people. My favourite part of being at Lancaster was that everyone in the city and the university were friendly and there are alumni all over the world.

Valuable, career-enhancing opportunities

Being at Lancaster means that you have lots of opportunities open to you, both as part of your studies and outside of your academic career.

I worked for a local rubber manufacturing company in my third year, helping to conduct market research and gathering positive feedback on their new product launch. This was a great experience of working in western culture, which is so different from Asian culture, and learned about the core values of professionalism and work-life balance.

I also volunteered at OXFAM and at a local charity. I was delighted to be awarded the Lancashire County Council’s Volunteer of The Year award.

Lancaster supported my career ambitions as it helped me step out of my comfort zone and be adventurous. I am a firm believer of taking action - we will never get anything we want unless we ask and make the first attempt. I am delighted to have received a Distinguished Toastmasters (DTM) award, the highest recognition of Toastmaster International which is a world-leading organisation for professional public speakers. Currently, I am building my team at work and developing my personal brand through podcasts, video-filming and many other things.

Community

The community as a student and an alumna is amazing. I really enjoyed the bonds that develop and the engagement with the University. People are really nice and friendly. It feels like home even after graduating 6 years ago. I am proud to be a member of the Lancaster community.

I was in Pendle College and the live band night on campus on a Thursday were the best! But my greatest memory of Lancaster was my flatmates. They were from different countries and we often cooked in the kitchen and we had fun together. The best part was celebrating different festive occasions together.

To anyone thinking about studying at Lancaster I have five top recommendations:

  1. Arrive at Lancaster at least a week earlier and join the arrival week activities if possible
  2. Participate in a variety of clubs and societies as much as possible so that you can develop your network outside of the academic aspects of university life
  3. Join the local community through meet up groups and explore the local culture
  4. Learn and practise public speaking
  5. Spend at least a year living off-campus to get a different experience

I look back fondly on my time at Lancaster and continue to engage with the University as an alumna, it’s a community for life.